The New York Times reports today that various alternative plans on Afghanistan are being considered, and that the President is about to have his eighth meeting on the subject with his advisers later today after his involvement with the Veterans Day commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery.
The various alternatives all seem to involve different levels of new troops going to Afghanistan, although the top advisers continue to be split on the subject.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen all seem to favor a major escalation of troops, while Vice President Joe Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel remain skeptical to such a growth of troops.
This decision is extremely important, and I feel that if President Obama goes the route of more escalation, he will come to regret it, and it could cause a loss of support within his party for his domestic initiatives. Ultimately, it could cause a failed Presidency and an untold growth in the national debt, which seems not to worry the Republican opposition which screams and yells about unacceptable levels of debt to deal with the Great Recession and domestic reform, including health care, but sees defense spending as not an issue that upsets them.
I say to President Obama that he must ignore the opposition attacks and do what is best for the nation, so I repeat: Listen to your vice President, Joe Biden, as he is leading you down the proper and sensible path. Do NOT escalate in Afghanistan and instead build up our homeland security and solve the many domestic problems that this country faces and that you campaigned on. Keep your commitments, and to hell with the conservative and Republican opposition as they wish you and the country ill in their mad quest for taking us to the extreme right, the real threat above all to our nation’s long term future!