Give credit to Barack Obama for not caving to his Left and either leaving the status of the war in Afghanistan at the current troop levels or trying to withdraw now. However, his imposition of an artificial timetable of 18 months, with a troop increase that will take months to complete, demonstrates a commitment to something, and it’s not victory over the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Michael Ramirez, the two-time Pulitizer Prize winner for his editorial cartoons, sums it up nicely for Investors Business Daily:
The thoroughly uninspiring speech given to West Point cadets said nothing about what Obama wants as an outcome from our fight against the extremists. Even if Obama can’t choke out the word victory, he must have some idea why Americans have a stake in the war. His Cabinet officials did a better job in Congress yesterday, noting that the security concerns for the US in a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan would be a 10 on a scale of 1-10. If that’s true, why will Obama start packing up in 2011 regardless of the status of the war?
Ramirez has a terrific collection of his works: Everyone Has the Right to My Opinion, which covers the entire breadth of Ramirez’ career, and it gives a fascinating look at political history. Read my review here, and watch my interviews with Ramirez here and here. And don’t forget to check out the entire Investors.com site, which has now incorporated all of the former IBD Editorials, while individual investors still exist.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member