This is the plan developed as "Max Leverage," and God bless our young President for doing what one cannot imagine ol' John McCain would have in his place:
Now as his top military adviser ran through a slide show of options, Mr. Obama expressed frustration. He held up a chart showing how reinforcements would flow into Afghanistan over 18 months and eventually begin to pull out, a bell curve that meant American forces would be there for years to come.
“I want this pushed to the left,” he told advisers, pointing to the bell curve. In other words, the troops should be in sooner, then out sooner.
Good stuff includes the President and key staff members reading up on Vietnam so as to try and avoid those mistakes -- like not questioning the Domino Theory and avoiding open-ended engagement -- as well as massive consideration of Pakistan, which we should all be reminded has both Taliban and nuclear weapons, so far kept separate.
The depth of learning, questioning, openness to all opinions prior to decision-making, and the climax, where the President has revealed his decision to those working with him and goes around the room to ask if anyone disagrees, could not be more different from what we learned about the previous Administration.
However, it is interesting to note this key exchange on November 11th:
He turned to General Petraeus and asked him how long it took to get the so-called surge troops he commanded in Iraq in 2007. That was six months.
“What I’m looking for is a surge,” Mr. Obama said. “This has to be a surge.”
If one must fault El Presidente Bush for getting us into Iraq, I have to grudgingly credit him for the surge, which may become a staple of U.S. military policy against insurgencies going forward this century. The difference is that Bush's decision came in January 2007, over six years into his reign. That's a tragically long time for on-the-job learning.
Here's to our young President, moving quickly.
Godspeed.
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