President Obama is not an Afghan expert. Few people are. But that could have been his strength. The three questions he needed to ask about Afghanistan were almost childlike in their simplicity. Yet Obama either failed to ask them or went ahead, nevertheless, because he was afraid he would have been called a wimp by Republicans if he hadn’t.
That's why, as I blogged earlier, Obama will NOT fire McChrystal.
Anyway, Friedman then unbacks the three questions in detail. Here's Numero Uno:
The first question was hiding in plain sight: Why do we have to recruit and train our allies, the Afghan Army, to fight? That is like someone coming to you with a plan to recruit and train Brazilian boys to play soccer.
That's why you should read the full article.
That said, a teaser. The second question is obvious: Why are we still in bed with Karzai?
The third is great: What do we do if we should happen to win? Sorry, not giving the answer away, though. Read the column.
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