WASHINGTON — On the afternoon he held the eighth meeting of his Afghanistan review, President Obama arrived in the White House Situation Room ruminating about war. He had come from Arlington National Cemetery, where he had wandered among the chalky white tombstones of those who had fallen in the rugged mountains of Central Asia.
How much their sacrifice weighed on him that Veterans Day last month, he did not say. But his advisers say he was haunted by the human toll as he wrestled with what to do about the eight-year-old war. Just a month earlier, he had mentioned to them his visits to wounded soldiers at the Army hospital in Washington. “I don’t want to be going to Walter Reed for another eight years,” he said then.
The economic cost was troubling him as well after he received a private budget memo estimating that an expanded presence would cost $1 trillion over 10 years, roughly the same as his health care plan.
Now as his top military adviser ran through a slide show of options, Mr. Obama expressed frustration. He held up a chart showing how reinforcements would flow into Afghanistan over 18 months and eventually begin to pull out, a bell curve that meant American forces would be there for years to come.
“I want this pushed to the left,” he told advisers, pointing to the bell curve. In other words, the troops should be in sooner, then out sooner.
When the history of the Obama presidency is written, that day with the chart may prove to be a turning point, the moment a young commander in chief set in motion a high-stakes gamble to turn around a losing war. By moving the bell curve to the left, Mr. Obama decided to send 30,000 troops mostly in the next six months and then begin pulling them out a year after that, betting that a quick jolt of extra forces could knock the enemy back on its heels enough for the Afghans to take over the fight.
The three-month review that led to the escalate-then-exit strategy is a case study in decision making in the Obama White House — intense, methodical, rigorous, earnest and at times deeply frustrating for nearly all involved. It was a virtual seminar in Afghanistan and Pakistan, led by a president described by one participant as something “between a college professor and a gentle cross-examiner.”
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11 comments:
A child trying to do the work of a president! Pathetic!
If any of you think that we will ever completely leave this area of operation you are fools
You cannot set a timeline like he has done. To even think that Afghan. will be won over in a year or two is pushing it. The terrain is insane you cannot get vehicles into where the enemy is. When I was there in 2003-2004 we would get flown in by helicopter and dropped off somewhere after a 1-2 hour flight and left for 5-6 days to go raid villages. We also would get driven by Humvees, but they could not go where the enemy was, so of course we would be dropped off and left once again. It also takes time to get soldiers in shape to go fighting in the mountains. Soldiers in Iraq are used to riding in vehicles and not walking through the terrain Afghanistan has. This is all going to take time. More then 2011. Just my 2 cents from an Infantryman.
9:34; Why, because the Pres. actually took the time to develop a thoughtful strategy based on listening to varied opinions from all sides with the most weight going towards the guidance of the military leaders on the ground? Hmm, sounds like someone's idealogy just gives them a blind hatred to everything Obama. Join the mainstream and cheer on our troops and hope that the strategy set by the commander and chief wins this war!
10:15; everything I have seen says that the withdrawal will "begin" in 2011. I don't take that to mean our forces pack up and depart over night.
It is time that additional troops are being sent to Afganistan, after all, this is Obama's war and his General.
However there is no excuse for his dithering on this issue.
The President should listen to the Generals on the ground, but Obama has been to Copenhagen more times than he spoke to General McCrystal.
McCrystal developed the anti-insurgency strategy, was appointed by Obama and made the troop request. This should not have taken four months.
If this was not brought to light by 60 Minutes, McCrystal may still be waiting for an answer.
Our soldiers can't even protect themselves on an army base . . . in Texas . . . from one of their own! Two handguns and one nut job, over 40 soldiers injured or dead.
They have been fighting for 8 years in the desert of a 3rd world country armed with improvised grenades / explosives and rifles. Our enemy has no armor division - not one single tank. Our enemy has no air force. No planes at all. They have no navy - not a single friggin' ship. None. Zip. Zadda - forget about it. We can't "beat these guys" ? WTF?
There more heroine in UK and America than ever before. What is the "war" ? Is this a war? Seriously - our troops suck.
You should be ashamed of yourselves. The crips and bloods could have won this war by now.
Unbelievable.
11:29
You just said what a lot of us have been thinking. So many people are praying for the troops it is hard to tell the truth.
Maybe they should pray the troops learn how to fight!
Come on America - we used to win wars. What's wrong with our military?
They are costing us a fortune and they can't seem to beat these camel jockeys?
Something is definitely wrong with this picture.
Get the terrorists before they get us again.
9:10am: do you really think that bashing the troops helps satisfy that last quote?
11:29; we're talking war here, not an NFL game. You are officially a dumb@$$.
9:35am; a little perspective for you. As a scientist, I recently completed a grant application for $30,000 from the feds. Completion of the app. took 8-10 meetings with research specialists, tons of reading, and atleast 3.5 months of work. If this much work goes into recieving $30,000 from the tax payer, I expect as much or more prep. prior to placing 30,000 lives in danger and spending tens of billions of tax payer money. Oh I forgot, you guys on the right are more into the "ride in without sufficient troop numbers or gear, without actual plans for completing your objectives, without a strategy for victory, and without asking the hard questions BEFORE going in" strategy.
10:30
Good points. But it is also a good point that the soldiers appear to be failing.
The Leaders may have great plans. We don't really know. But if the kids don't execute on the ground, then they can't get the job done.
The younger kids are lazy. They want instant gratification. They are hard to manage.
Ill say this, we all know how the foreign kids out work American kids now. They young Latino population works circles around us. They haven't been spoiled by the luxuries of our standard of living. They don't have all the technologies to distract them like Amreicans have.
The young fighters of these Muslim countries are fighting for their lives. They are probably fighting circles around the Americans.
10:30
You actually believe the government is TRYING to win? The wars about war. The business of war. Nothing more, nothing less. It cannot end!
The purpose is: to not end.
The soldiers are employees. They're Ok with it. They get paid, they volunteer. But let's all stop calling them heroes for crying out loud.
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