Pomp and Circumspect

Fred Barnes writes:

I had hoped Obama would declare that nothing will deter him, as commander-in-chief, from prevailing in Afghanistan. But it turns out a lot of things might deter him. He listed a few of them: the cost of the war, its length (if more than 18 months from January 2010), the failure of Afghans to step up to the task sufficiently. He hedged.

Americans and our allies were looking for more, I believe. To have rallied the country and the world, Obama needed to indicate he would lead a fight to win in Afghanistan, with the help of allies if possible, but with the armed forces of the U.S. alone if necessary. He didn’t say anything like that. He didn’t come close.

The heavy emphasis placed by some on lofty rhetoric never ceases to amaze me. President Obama's predecessor was fond of the stuff, but it never accounted for much on the battle field. As we've now come to learn, the rhetoric President Bush applied to Afghanistan rarely matched strategic application on the ground. And as for Iraq, well, we know what lofty rhetoric and pageantry got us there.

I may disagree somewhat with the President's escalation plan, but I can at least appreciate his coupling of that plan with some sober rhetoric and reality on the ground.