A difficult decision

Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 | 2:04 a.m.

In a speech Tuesday night at West Point, President Barack Obama outlined his plan to address the war in Afghanistan, ordering 30,000 more troops there next year. The president also put pressure on the Afghanistan government, saying he was not writing a “blank check,” adding he wants troop withdrawals to start in July 2011, 18 months after deployment.

The plan came under immediate fire from the political extremes on the left and the right. Certainly, the president couldn’t please everyone — the left wants the troops out immediately; the right wants no definitive pullout date.

But with no good options after the Bush administration’s failed attempts at waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama charted a reasonable course for America’s role in what he has called “the necessary war.” Although harshly criticized by Republicans for setting a public withdrawal date, Obama made it clear he is using that date as a lever to force Afghanistan to step up its effort and take over. Without a firm date, America will likely be stuck in Afghanistan for years, and the inefficient, corruption-ridden government will never right itself.

The American forces, which will total 100,000 after the deployment, will train Afghan soldiers, helping them hone the skills they need to keep the country secure and fight terrorism. It’s an understatement to say that it will be difficult for Afghan soldiers to be sufficiently trained by 2011, which is Obama’s goal of starting the withdrawal of U.S. troops. There is too much work to be done in such a short amount of time.

The military’s efforts will continue to be focused on the mountainous region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Obama called the region the “epicenter” of Islamic extremism.

“It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak,” he said. “We must keep the pressure on al-Qaida, and to do that, we must increase the stability and capacity of our partners in the region.”

The president also said the U.S. effort would work on strengthening the Afghan government and civilian leadership to increase the country’s stability. As well, Obama said America has to strengthen its ties with Pakistan to root out terrorists on its side of the border.

One of the things that impresses us about the plan is how it came to be. The Obama administration spent the past few months considering and debating ideas. For that, the president was criticized for what former Vice President Dick Cheney called “dithering.” In a rejoinder to Cheney, the president said there had never been a proposal from the military that would send troops to Afghanistan any quicker than what he approved, “so there has been no delay or denial of resources necessary for the conduct of the war.”

Of course, Cheney’s comment was laughable on its face, considering that he and former President George W. Bush rushed troops into Afghanistan and then Iraq without any real planning. The result has been that U.S. policy has been bogged down in those countries.

Obama has been consistently harangued by many conservatives, who nag him about how he handles the wars he inherited. Critics have scolded him, telling him to listen to his generals and military commanders, as if he didn’t know any better. Of course, it should be noted that the generals don’t make the final decision, the president does. He is the commander in chief of the military, and his critics should know that. It is, after all, in the U.S. Constitution.

The president was the picture of a commander in chief in the way he made this decision — a decision that will put thousands of more Americans’ lives in danger. Obama spent a significant amount of time consulting military and civilian leaders, as well as Afghan officials. In testimony to Congress on Wednesday, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he has never seen a national security issue “so thoroughly or so thoughtfully considered as this one,” adding that “every military leader in the chain of command” was given room to voice an opinion.

As a result, the military’s top brass has been vocal in its support of the plan, and that should help carry it to completion. This is a sound proposal, and we hope it moves the country toward an end to a war that has gone on too long.