Pundit Country

I don’t venture too much into foreign policy on this blog, but this piece Gary Will caught my eye. In it, he counters the over-stated opinion that leaving Afghanistan will besmirch the memories of those who have fallen by asking what is it worth to stay in an unwinnable war and how many lives is the President willing to sacrifice for it.

It’s an apt question and one that I haven’t heard asked before by anyone who is not only opposed to our continued presence there, but definitely opposed to escalating it further by placing more boots on the ground. Willis put it well:

One of the strongest arguments for continued firing up of these wars is that none of these presidents wanted to serve only one term (even Lyndon Johnson, who chose not to run for a second full term). But what justification is there for buying a second presidential term with the lives of hundreds or thousands of young American men and women in the military?

…

It is unlikely that we will soon have another president with the moral and rhetorical force to talk us out of a foolish commitment that cannot be sustained without shame and defeat. If it costs him his presidency, what other achievement can match it?

During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama said he would rather be a one-term president than give up on his goals. Here is a goal no other president we can imagine would have a possibility of reaching. Presidents who just kick the can down the road are easy to come by. Lost lives and limbs are not.

While I didn’t list his piece as a Must Read, it’s worth your time if you are having rising doubts about “the good war”, but especially if you don’t. He may give you some food for thought.

Related articles

• MSNBC: Official: Obama Rejects War Options. “President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any o… (pajamasmedia.com)
• John Conyers Tells Obama: ‘Start Knocking Heads’ (huffingtonpost.com)
• Obama’s Partisan Balancing Act on Afghanistan (usnews.com)

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