Afghanistan Mission Creep Watch - The Not So Fast Version Posted by Michael Cohen

According to the New York Times, President Obama may be putting his concerns about mission creep into action:

President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Qaeda there and in Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

 . . . Among the alternatives being presented to Mr. Obama is Mr. Biden’s suggestion to revamp the strategy altogether. Instead of increasing troops, officials said, Mr. Biden proposed scaling back the overall American military presence. Rather than trying to protect the Afghan population from the Taliban, American forces would concentrate on strikes against Qaeda cells, primarily in Pakistan, using special forces, Predator missile attacks and other surgical tactics.

The Americans would accelerate training of Afghan forces and provide support as they took the lead against the Taliban. But the emphasis would shift to Pakistan. Mr. Biden has often said that the United States spends something like $30 in Afghanistan for every $1 in Pakistan, even though in his view the main threat to American national security interests is in Pakistan.

It's articles like this that remind me for all the hand-wringing of the AMCW we are blessed to have an adult in the White House who is willing to challenge assumptions and switch course on national security if the facts demand it.  There are of course no guarantees that President Obama will adopt Biden's suggestions on what to do in Afghanistan, but I'm impressed that he is not allowing himself to be pressured into a decision by the McChrystal leak and that he is not enthralled by the absurd notion that contemplation is akin to capitulation.

It reminds me in part of one of the key tenets of the Weinberger/Powell Doctrine that is often forgotten:

The relationship between our objectives and the forces we have committed -- their size, composition and disposition -- must be continually reassessed and adjusted if necessary.

That's precisely what the President is doing - and yet all too rarely happens in national security decision-making.  It is ironic that there are some who accuse the President of going wobbly or undermining his commitment to winning in Afghanistan - they seem to be the same people who have believed for the past 8 years that every foreign policy problem demands the solution of "more troops." Re-considering strategy, challenging assumptions, weighing costs and benefits is not weakness; it's leadership.

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