Mon Feb 13 2012
In a series of interviews with the TV networks before he left China, President Barack Obama disclosed that he is angered by the leaks that have accompanied his protracted deliberations over Afghanistan and considered the unauthorized disclosures a firing offense.
With all respect, the leaks are partially his fault.
In May, the president vacated the post of top commander in Afghanistan so he could name his own choice, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a specialist in counterinsurgency warfare. McChrystal studied the situation over the summer and, in early September, privately submitted to the White House a request for up to 40,000 more troops. That request quickly leaked, as did news that key players in the administration, notably Vice President Joe Biden, didn't support it.
In April, the Senate confirmed retired Gen. Karl Eikenberry, Obama's choice to be ambassador to Afghanistan. In early November, Eikenberry sent classified cables to the White House objecting strongly to any plan to deploy thousands of more troops to Afghanistan. That, too, quickly leaked.
Like it or not -- and Obama, like most presidents, doesn't like it -- leaking is part of the culture of Washington. It's how positions get staked out and advanced. The longer Obama deliberates on what he plans to do on Afghanistan, the more his deliberations will leak and the more it will seem as if he can't run a disciplined policy-making operation.
The president's opponents, notably former Vice President Dick Cheney, accuse him of "dithering" on Afghanistan. His advocates say he's being methodical and careful before making a commitment to put thousands Americans in harm's way. Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that 53 percent of those surveyed are confident he will come up with a successful Afghan strategy, indicating that, at least for now, the country is giving him the benefit of the doubt.
In his network interviews, Obama says he expects to make a decision "in the next several weeks." When he does, he promised, he would explain "in very clear terms" what exactly is at stake, what we intend to do, how we're going to succeed and how much it's going to cost. There would be "clear benchmarks" for the heretofore ineffectual government of Hamid Karzai, who was sworn in Thursday for a second term he "won" in a seriously flawed election
And, Obama promised, there would be an exit strategy -- something that has been lacking as this nation's involvement in Afghanistan enters its eighth year.
If he can do all that, his painstaking review will have perhaps been worth the wait.
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