Betrayal

In past issues we have praised Obama for his unilateral effort to isolate Iran. There’s teeth in them thar sanctions. Those who claim we are partisan will receive little comfort from these issues.

Still, there is one overriding concern which these rare instances of judgement do little to erase.

It is this: Obama has put the security interests of the US in jeopardy and further endangered those Americans serving in Afghanistan by promising a withdrawal date of 7/2011, in exchange for votes to further his domestic agenda.

This is contemptible behavior.

We broached this topic earlier; now Woodward’s book confirms it. Woodward details the thinking behind Obama's decision on the deadline. "I can't let this be a war without end, and I can't lose the whole Democratic Party," Obama told Lindsay Graham at one point.

Trudy Rubin of the Philadelphia Inquirer has reported frequently from Afg. From today’s issue she is critical of Obama’s judgement: “As I saw on my last visit to Afghanistan, in April, the deadline convinced most Afghans that the Americans were headed for the exits. Tribal chiefs and village elders now believe the Taliban will make a comeback, and they are sitting tight.”

Key to our effort in Afg (as in Iraq) is the shift in Afghan psychology at the grassroots, the belief that it is safe for locals to turn against the insurgents. Duh! Any draw down date emasculates that goal. And it puts our people there at much greater risk.

Just a lack of judgement this time? More. An open act of betrayal based on party politics.

Every American should be ashamed of this guy.

Robert Craven