Crunch time in Afghanistan:
The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict “will likely result in failure,” according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post.
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal says emphatically: “Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible.”
His assessment was sent to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Aug. 30 and is now being reviewed by President Obama and his national security team.
McChrystal concludes the document’s five-page Commander’s Summary on a note of muted optimism: “While the situation is serious, success is still achievable.”
What will Obama do?
He can stay with what he’s got; scuttle the mission right away; or fight for complete victory. Naturally, I wish the President to fight for victory – and I’m certain that is what the troops want him to do, too. The only good option is to pour it on and do whatever proves necessary – to steel ourselves, as we did in 2007, to fight for victory regardless of cost. Scuttling or continued half-measures are the worst option…in either case, we’ll end up with defeat, though if we keep at it with insufficient forces we’ll have a higher death toll, ours and theirs.
We are about to find out, for certain, if Obama has the stuff of Presidents in him.
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