LA Times reported that 'Afghan war poll triggers Obama political alarms'. Though I am no expert of foreign affairs, I believe there is one fundamental problem with the administration's handling of the war.
Mr Obama stated his objectives in March:
I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal - to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future.
This seems to be a very limited 'search and destroy' mission. But Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and his team, the Obama administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, at the briefing at the CAP, talked about
'an agricultural development program aimed at restoring jobs and income, improvement of governance, reform of the justice sector and the rule of law, build up of the government’s capacity to promote economic development, and working with civil society'
This sounds very much like 'nation building' his party criticised so much in the past regarding Iraq. Of course the strategy is logical. After all, you will need 'well-governed' Afghanistan to defeat Al Qaeda. However, what the administration is doing seems to be selling one war while fighting another.
If Mr Obama needs additional troops and funding, he needs to tell the facts and make the case, even though it may subject himself to the same criticism he offered in the past. It might not help poll numbers, but will help him win the credibility he needs so badly.
