horse of george

Well, that only took forever - following observations from Brooks in today's Times after he talked to several military professionals regarding Obama's much fretted over review of his review of his position on Afghan policy - observations I made, conclusions I reached on Obama's war rhetoric, what, a year and a half ago? I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen any of the major players in the MSM get to the heart of the matter in this way.

... they do not know if he possesses the trait that is more important than intellectual sophistication and, in fact, stands in tension with it. They do not know if he possesses tenacity, the ability to fixate on a simple conviction and grip it, viscerally and unflinchingly, through complexity and confusion. They do not know if he possesses the obstinacy that guided Lincoln and Churchill, and which must guide all war presidents to some degree.

Their second concern is political. They do not know if President Obama regards Afghanistan as a distraction from the matters he really cares about: health care, energy and education. Some of them suspect that Obama talked himself into supporting the Afghan effort so he could sound hawkish during the campaign. They suspect he is making a show of commitment now so he can let the matter drop at a politically opportune moment down the road.

Finally, they do not understand the president’s fundamental read on the situation. Most of them, like most people who have spent a lot of time in Afghanistan, believe this war is winnable. They do not think it will be easy or quick. But they do have a bedrock conviction that the Taliban can be stymied and that the governments in Afghanistan and Pakistan can be strengthened. But they do not know if Obama shares this gut conviction or possesses any gut conviction on this subject at all.

This also confirms my belief, my concern that many in the military are looking at Obama and seeing the same thing I'm seeing - hell, Petraeus is a lot smarter than me, if he and his cohorts are viewing the Obama administration with increasing scepticism one has to wonder about, maybe worry about the consequences of that.