I didn’t listen to Obama’s speech last night since I’m not particularly interested in how he is trying to rationalize screwing up the war in Afghanistan even further. Apparently, however, he made this claim:
“Throughout this period, our troop levels in Afghanistan remained a fraction of what they were in Iraq,” Obama said. “Commanders in Afghanistan repeatedly asked for support to deal with the reemergence of the Taliban, but these reinforcements did not arrive.”
In response, Donald Rumsfeld said:
“I am not aware of a single request of that nature between 2001 and 2006…The president’s assertion does a disservice to the truth and, in particular, to the thousands of men and women in uniform who have fought, served and sacrificed in Afghanistan.”
Now I’m not naive enough to believe that Rumsfeld wouldn’t defend the Bush administration as a political measure, but the precision (not a single request between 01-06) of this statement carries a definite degree of honesty. Added to Obama’s cowardly tendency to consistently blame the last administration for all of his problems and his extended indecision on war policy, this just seems like another example of the Commander in Chief failing to live up to the stature of his position.
At what point will Obama take some responsibility? At what point will the public take that option away from him and hold him accountable?
I find it hard to believe that commanders in Afghanistan never requested reinforcements to counter the Taliban. Part of the reasons we’re in this mess is because the Bush administration clearly didn’t have sufficient forces in that region to prevent the Taliban from regaining strength.
Obama is justified in placing this at the feet of the previous administration. Their decisions to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to thousands of dead Americans and hundreds of billions of dollars in costs. That said, Obama has (finally) made his decision for a half-hearted surge. It’s his conflict now. The chances of creating any real stability in that nation seem desperately slim though.