It was a wet dream to the left when Bush was president. Now it's a huge threat to them politically because they are in danger of being perceived as weak on foreign policy. Think about it. Obama adds a relatively small troop surge. He then optimistically proclaims that the war will be won in the summer of 2011 and then will start withdrawing troops. If he starts withdrawing troops and the whole country is still chaotic then the general public will ask why he ever escalated the war if he had no intention of winning it. They will then question whether Obama really had any type of ability at all regarding military operations. All of these questions kill political momentum.
The article quotes McCrystal as saying he voted for Obama. That shows pretty pathetic judgment for a military leader, but he was probably just lying to the reporter.
Even a bum on the street knows we have the most powerful military in the world. Therefore people will attribute failure in Afghanistan to politicians and military leaders, not the actual military. Your argument is like telling a blind person to shoot at targets from a far range with the most powerful sniper rifle in the world. The blind person then misses all the targets and then you say that this test is a major blow to the guns ability. The gun may indeed be innaccurate but you need an accurate shooter to test accuracy. Obama is not an accurate shooter.
âI extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened. Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard. I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome.â-Stanley McChrystal