Vice President Joe Biden is rapidly becoming as influential Vice President close to the level of former Vice President Dick Cheney, but politically the exact opposite of Cheney.
Cheney promoted a hawkish view of foreign policy, while Biden is promoting a more dovish view, that we should not promote more troops in Afghanistan, but rather depend on drones and intelligence in Pakistan to hunt down Al Qaeda while, for the time being, NOT withdrawing the 68,000 troops already in Afghanistan. The history of Afghanistan is that no nation has ever, going back to ancient times, conquered or won in an intervention in that country.
This is wise advice in my view, and it is hoped that President Obama will listen to the Vice President. But the suggestion by Ariana Huffington that Biden should resign if he loses the battle over troop increases in Afghanistan is preposterous.
The way to change policy over time is to stick it out and work to change the President’s mind, even if not possible immediately.
Biden is one of the major assets of the Obama Administration, and he is a man of much wisdom!