Foreign Policy In A War Zone Is Not A Soap Opera
Michael Haltman | October 27, 2009
Episode Number Six On “To Surge Or Not To Surge”
Not The Time, Place or Situation For A Soap Opera
On Monday, for the sixth time, the President met in the White House Situation Room to discuss whether or not to agree to the addition of troops requested by General McCrystal. General McCrystal, at the time of the request, painted a dire picture of how things would develop if the troops were not provided. He also said that speed in the decision making process was critical. The word being provided is that the meeting Monday should not be construed to mean that a decision is imminent. The President wants to get it right and not fast.
Getting it right is certainly the correct strategy, one that might have worked a little bit better with the stimulus package that was rushed through or with the government run healthcare, but it seems to me that the President has had all of the time and input from those around him to make a decision. It is lonely at the top, and the American public was under the impression that they were electing a decision maker to be the Chief Executive of the country. By the sixth meeting, is there other information to decipher or people to consult who have not been consulted already? If so, why is that the case?
It is obvious based on the increased violence in the region that the enemy is emboldened by the fact that there is apparent weakness and glaring lack of resolve emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. National security is a different animal than that of trying to ram a healthcare bill through the Congress. Military decisions take bold and confident leadership, as much for the troops on the ground as for the terrorists we are fighting.
Like a shark that smells the blood in the water, the Taliban and al-Qaeda, observing six meetings with more on the way in search of consensus for a plan, must get the feeling that the inmates are in control of the asylum. The world is waiting, so please live up to the job that you were so eager to obtain.
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