Encouraging words, and reminiscent of his “necessary war” rhetoric from the campaign trail. Although (a) according to McChrystal, we only have 12 months to finish the job — as of three months ago; (b) the long delay has, by their own admission, made it much harder for our allies to keep up public support for the war; and (c) as Ed noted this morning, a true commitment to “finishing the job” wouldn’t emphasize “off-ramps.” Also, as noted by Tapper, at no point here did The One commit to a counterinsurgency strategy. The most he conceded to the goal of securing the country was when he said, vis-a-vis destroying AQ networks, that “Afghanistan’s stability is important to that process.” Hmmmm.
TNR is urging patience today, reminding readers that it’ll take months to get the new troops in the field and months after that before we have any sense of whether the tide has turned. Exit question: Um, what does that mean for McChrystal’s deadline?
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