After watching the state of the union speech I began to wonder if our country will ever mend its divisions. The president seemed especially partisan when angered and our Senate and House Representatives are either ideologically divided or pathologically attempting to win the next election.

This idea of a seemingly hopelessly divided nation has been gnawing at me quite some time. For example, in my new novel, Rogue Threat, hero Matt Garrett confronts complacency and political infighting as he attempts to stop the surprise reappearance in America of Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction mounted on some unmanned aerial vehicles called Predators.

Palin and Brigadier General Tata  after a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center

But then I recalled a day last December when I escorted Sarah Palin through Walter Reed Army Medical Center in our nation’s capitol. In one weekend one of our most conservative governors and some of our most liberal entertainers separately devoted huge chunks of their time to being with our troops and their families. In short, just as 9-11 united us, so do the wounded stemming from that catastrophic event. These bold men and women are quietly serving a purpose beyond their contracts. The sum of the parts, as they say, is larger than the whole. (more…)

In my last column titled “The Cost of Delay,” I highlighted that one of the primary second order effects of the Obama administration’s stalling on the Afghanistan decision was that the Afghan runoff election would necessarily be a repeat of the general election, complete with allegations of fraud and intimidation.

Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and Afghan President Hamid Karzai Meet With then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

The issues surrounding the general election in Afghanistan were basically that it was poorly administered and security concerns were rampant as the Taliban tried to disrupt and influence the voting. Afghanistan with its 100,000 NATO forces does not have sufficient combat power to secure all of the provinces. It’s that simple. We had twice that amount to secure elections in Iraq, a country 1/3 smaller than Afghanistan, with 8,000,000 fewer citizens, and with far more infrastructure. For the Afghan runoff, there would have been no measurable difference in troop levels or international assistance from the first election, and so Abdullah Abdullah, the only viable contender to Karzai, pulled out believing the fix was in. Allegations of corruption and intimidation are just that, allegations, but should have been addressed. They weren’t.

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While the Obama violinists’ supple wrists magically fiddle with their bows, the firefights continue in Afghanistan. General Stan McChrystal’s thorough assessment requesting 60,000-40,000 additional troops is now over seven weeks old and the Obama administration’s duplicity is becoming more evident by the day.
 
This amazing lack of dexterity is rather stunning given then candidate-Obama’s pledge that this was a war of necessity that we must win. Was that really just a headline grabber to convince moderate democrats that he would be strong on defense? It is increasingly appearing that way.

U.S. Forces Fire Onto Enemy Positions Near Pakistan Border

So let me be clear about the cost of delay:
 
First, while Obama has deliberated, troops he has previously described as “under resourced” are fighting and dying…and still under resourced.
 
Second, the Taliban are terrorizing civilians in those areas that lack significant or any coalition force presence and very courageous political leaders at the local governance level are left defenseless.
 
Third, we may miss the window of opportunity presented by the traditional Taliban operational pause in December and January.
 
Fourth, we exponentially complicate the deployment and reception of the 40,000 troops as ships have to be ordered, planes scheduled, operating bases built, and supplies delivered.

Fifth, had Obama acted promptly, he may have had additional troops to help with the election runoff agreed upon this week.
 
Sixth, with each day that Stan McChrystal’s request goes unanswered, the president gives the green light for his legions of political hacks and pudgy pundits, none of whom can hold McChrystal’s jock strap, to malign the general and minimize both his stature and his assessment. No biggie to McChrystal personally, but the enemy makes hay with this kind of thing in the terrorist recruiting world.

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As the president wraps up his swing across all of the talk shows and collects his Nobel Peace Prize, one gets the sense that we are rapidly approaching a defining moment in the Obama presidency. 9-11 was thrust upon President Bush just nine months into his administration, and President Obama now faces an unwelcome, but completely predictable, dilemma in his first year. The key issue of course is whether the President should resource the McChrsytal strategy or does he listen to his base and deny his general on the ground the troops he believes are needed to win?

When Obama came into office there were 35,000 troops in Afghanistan. Soon there will be 68,000, meaning Obama ordered 33,000 of them into combat. Just 3,000 more and Obama owns the balance.

Even if he doesn’t send the additional 40,000 troops General McChrystal asked for, there’s no doubt that this is his war now. The president may be looking at this the way a relief pitcher views the situation coming into an inning with runners on base. What counts against him and what doesn’t? But as commander in chief, he has to unhinge himself from such personal considerations. He must take off his political hat and listen to the sound advice of his military commanders and the Secretary of Defense. (more…)