The Washington Post pointed out yesterday that the previously unannounced deployment of 13,000 support troops to Afghanistan “exacerbates the strain on the force.” While the burdens on soldiers are still high, the recession economy has eased that strain to a large extent. The Washington Times this reported this morning that the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force sent 169,000 new troops for training in the previous fiscal year. Of these, 96% are high school graduates.
Our own economic quagmire may prevent a military quagmire in Afghanistan if the president backs General McChrystal’s request for more combat troops. The outcome of that request remains uncertain as the administration has recently made moves to downplay the national security threat poised by the Taliban. As the war has returned to the news, the American people have increasingly supported a fight against the Taliban, despite the administration’s indecisiveness.
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
GregA| 10.14.09 @ 2:21PM
By all means, the Taliban threat should be downplayed. Generalissimo-bama will then have plenty of resources available for domestic use against the ignorant American people who support a fight against the Taliban.