Some have said the president was dithering; others have lauded him for not making hasty, irreparable decisions.Many of our allies are either pulling out, or making plans to pull out. Only the UN and Britain see any merit in continuing what appears to be a losing battle. And of course, the Republican Party wants surges, more troops on the ground, more killing, 'winning' having absolutely no sense of historical perspective nor having learned ay lessons from the planned Iraq invasion.
While President Obama continues to solicit opinions from his commanders and other experts on strategy, perhaps the most important source of intelligence has not caught his attention. The resignation of Matthew Hoh, a former Marine who fought in Iraq, joined the State Department after leaving the military and was a diplomat in a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan was followed by a media blitz of Hoh appearance on just about every news channel to be had. His letter of resignation contained the following text:
"I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan. I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end.'
Richard Holbrooke was said to have agreed with Hoh's assessment, though he still believed the war was worth the fight. Sending more soldiers to the arena of what is to be certain defeat is an error. From most accounts, al-Qaeda appears to have re-located in its safehaven in the Maghreb. Is it the U.S. responsibility to continue chasing an elusive enemy? Or will it finally understand that it is its very own foreign policy that fuels al-Qaeda's ire?
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