President Obama is trying to decide our military strategy in Afghanistan. He is mulling over input from his civilian and military advisers, and members of Congress, but he cannot make a timely decision because of his lack of military and national security experience. His community organizing background is not very helpful in this situation.
It appears he will follow a path of political compromise similar to the policies that handcuffed our military in Vietnam. Obama is attempting to stifle his generals and turn them into Obama puppets, which will kill initiative and inhibit candid assessments of the war. This is a recipe for disaster in Afghanistan and could produce another war dominated by unsound military decisions made by politicians.
Predator drones, air power, missiles and mechanized armies cannot defeat the Taliban and al Qaida because of the extremely rugged terrain that is home to these fighters.
General McChrystal should receive the additional ground combat troops he requested, including special operations forces; and we need to speed up the training of the Afghan army.
We need a decisive military strategy for Afghanistan, not the indecision exhibited by the Obama Administration, which could lead to a debacle. If Afghanistan goes, Pakistan could follow.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH
