In today’s Washington Post, George Will calls for the United States to dramatically change its policy in Afghanistan. In effect, Will calls for a pull out:
[F]orces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters.
That the doves on the left are growing tired of the costly war in Afghanistan should not surprise anyone. The Obama administration may not be thrilled by this development, but they likely expected the doves to begin to grumble as the war continues to grow more and more costly. The doves do not threaten the administration’s Afghanistan policy. However to lose Mr. Will’s support will deeply trouble many administration officials not only because Mr. Will remains one of, if not the most recognized newspaper columnist in America (conservative or Democrat) but also because Mr. Will’s defection indicates that support on the right, particularly amongst realists like Mr. Will (and myself) may not be as reliable as the administration may have originally believed.
President Obama’s handling of the war effort in Afghanistan is one of the few policies where this president has received anything resembling true bipartisan support. President Obama is a talented politician with a unique ability to appeal directly to the American people, but his administration can hardly afford to lose the support of the realist right at a time when it is fighting heated partisan wars on gargantuan issues like healthcare. Anything resembling serious opposition to the war effort from moderate Republicans and Democrats alike would require a PR blitz that would quickly suck up much of the administration’s remaining political capital. The White House knows this, and you can expect them to mount a PR blitz in the coming days aimed at countering Mr. Will’s arguments, and in doing so holding together a portion of the right’s suddenly fragile war support.
11 responses so far
1 DFL // Sep 1, 2009 at 1:24 pm
The “realist right” are not part of President Obama’s voting base and can be ignored. To please his left-wing, anti-interventionist supporters, the American military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan had better be winding down in 2012 if Barack Obama expects a smooth reelection. Barack Obama, who cares little for foreign affairs but as a source of foreign adulation of his person, is almost totally absorbed in remaking the United States in his left-wing vision.
2 barker13 // Sep 1, 2009 at 2:19 pm
“That the doves on the left are growing tired of the costly war in Afghanistan should not surprise anyone.”
Jay. It’s not just “doves” and it’s not just “the Left.
Btw, Jay… I hear the Marines are still looking for a few (more) good men. You look young and healthy judging from your photo.
(*SHRUG*) Just saying…
BILL
3 balconesfault // Sep 1, 2009 at 4:57 pm
“Barack Obama, who cares little for foreign affairs but as a source of foreign adulation of his person”
I do believe you’re completely wrong.
Btw, Jay… I hear the Marines are still looking for a few (more) good men. You look young and healthy judging from your photo.
(**Thumbs Up! **)
4 Loss of Will - The Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com // Sep 1, 2009 at 5:09 pm
[...] New Majority, Jeb Golinkin argues that as opposed to the “doves on the left,” which “do not threaten the administration’s Afghanistan policy,” the [...]
5 MFarmer // Sep 1, 2009 at 7:21 pm
To hell with the political angles — getting out of Afghanistan is the right thing to do for the country and for the men and women fighting. I don’t give a whit if it affects Obama politically, but I do care about the soldiers.
6 barker13 // Sep 2, 2009 at 10:37 am
My best friend and I took “my nephew” out last night…
(Chris is actually my best friend Carl’s nephew, but I’ve known him since he was floating around in his mommy’s womb.) (*WINK*)
Chris has spent the last four years (???) in the Marines, did a tour in Iraq, did recruiting duty… got out this past July.
His younger (one year) brother Adam is a Marine also – serving his second tour in Iraq as I type. He’s due home next month.
Chris is NOW going to join the ARMY…
(*SHRUG*) (*HEADACHE*)
Sounds weird, huh? Apparently he believes he’ll have more varied opportunities in the Army, and once all the paperwork goes through he’ll enter at his “old” rank with no new “basic training” requirement or anything.
Adam is “in LOVE” (*SMILING AS I ROLL MY EYES*) with “the girl back home” so he’s 99% sure he’ll take his discharge when he gets home and finishes serving out his present enlistment.
BOTTOM LINE… I wouldn’t want EITHER of “my nephews” being sent to Afghanistan.
(*SHRUG*)
Now some might wanna start a debate with me about their service in Iraq and our continued role there.
NOPE! Not gonna engage. (Not now, not here anyway; one SPECIFIC issue at a time.) (*NOD*)
Afghanistan… I just don’t see the need to risk “my nephews’” lives and limbs over there; nor do I see the need to risk ANY of our fellow countrymen’s lives over there (in terms of major deployment of combat forces).
* Jay. As always… (*SHRUG*)… I note that you’re not big on “conversing” with us “regular posters.” That’s ok. It does IMHO reflect badly upon you… but… it’s not like it keeps me from sleeping at night.
(*WINK*)
* Jay. Seriously. If you wanna be a hawk… man up and join up. (*SHRUG*)
I didn’t when I was your age and I regret it today.
Still… at least I’ve always been for a return to a draft. (That’s my position for a VARIETY of reasons.) I felt that way as a “kid” too. (*SHRUG*)
My basic thought… (*SHRUG*)… I try to look at combat deployment from the perspective of someone who has something – SOMEONE – to lose.
BILL
7 sinz54 // Sep 2, 2009 at 10:57 am
Golinkin:
Me too.
I’m certainly right of center (go read my other posts).
But I don’t see the point of continuing to fight a war in Afghanistan when even the Administration admits that the top al-Qaeda leadership are now in Pakistan. (If al-Qaeda had never been in Afghanistan, neither would we.)
And I don’t like nation-building, especially when the nation happens to be an impoverished toilet of a country like Afghanistan.
8 sinz54 // Sep 2, 2009 at 10:58 am
Of course, our main concerns should be national security and the fate of our troops.
But there is a political bonus:
Obama can’t escalate in Afghanistan without political support.
Obama can’t hope his own left-wing base will support further escalation in Afghanistan. But many congressional Republicans may support his war–for a price.
McConnell should tell Obama that the GOP will throw its support behind Obama’s Afghanistan war policy, but only if Obama moves to the center on domestic issues, jettisons the public option on health care, and comes up with a plan to cut the deficit sharply–even at the expense of postponing Obama’s domestic initiatives.
9 sinz54 // Sep 2, 2009 at 11:01 am
Golinkin:
Then it’s high time that Obama made a Grand Bargain with congressional Republicans: The GOP will support Obama’s escalation in Afghanistan, if Obama drops the public option from the health care reform and also accepts major tort reform. Plus a few other goodies for the GOP that are too numerous to mention here.
10 greg_barton // Sep 4, 2009 at 2:03 am
Wow, sinz. You suggest trading soldiers’ lives for political favors.
Stay classy, man.
11 joedee1969 // Sep 5, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I just read C. Rich’s new book. ” The Conservative Reconstruction Project” and it was right on point with the conservative movement. I sent him an e-mail telling him about this site. He checked it out and wrote me back and said he loved it. He even put it on his blogroll and that guy never puts a whole lot on his link list. He must have love it. Anyway check out this link:
http://americaspeaksink.com/the-conservative-reconstructon-project/
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