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R. VogtObama’s Greatest Asset is His Greatest Weakness
During the last 9 months, President Obama has tackled multiple national issues including but not limited to: healthcare, national policy, foreign policy, and the economic condition of the United States. Currently Obama’s main focus is on the war in Afghanistan. Obama is debating whether he should approve an increase of forty thousand troops in Afghanistan or began the process of pulling troops out from Afghanistan.
A large percentage of Democrats do not support an increase of troops in Afghanistan. They cite the fact that the current government in Afghanistan that was just elected will establish a centralized government in a country that embraces regional politics rather than federalism. Additionally Democrats argue the need to start decreasing troop levels in the Middle East to start the process of lowering the national debt of the United States.
Republican leaders such John Boehner disapproves of the Democrat’s strategy. Boehner believes that it is a necessity to send more troops to Afghanistan for multiple reasons. First, Republicans believe that the war in Afghanistan is major war for the United States, if the troops are not sent or even worse decreased the Republicans fear a backlash to the United States prestige and global standing. John Boehner cites the current major general in Afghanistan, General McChrystal. McChrystal’s latest report pertaining to Afghanistan focuses on the desolate situation happening in Afghanistan currently. McChrystal reports that the Taliban insurgency is becoming more organized and deadlier. Subsequently, McChrystal believes in order to maintain a popular sovereignty in Afghanistan, Obama must send at least forty thousand troops to Afghanistan to control region. McChrystal believes if he receives the forty thousand troops, he can construct a new strategy in order to control terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and possibly as a result decimate terrorist groups in neighboring Palestine. Republicans support McChrystal plan to make the Middle East a stabilized region. They however continue to criticize Obama because; Obama would rather listen to his national security board and his war council rather than accepting McChrystal’s recommendation. Republicans believe that Obama does not have the experience like McChrystal to make military decision and as a result, it seems Obama does not care about his top general’s opinion
Additionally, they think that if the United States army leaves Afghanistan, the Taliban will take over the fledging government and began the process of reestablishing bases in Iraq and Palestine which in the longer term will result in more terrorist attacks on United States soil.
One point both Democrats and Republicans agree on is Obama’s indecisive action. Some Democrats are worried that Obama’s indecisive actions will lead to the lost of his political capital and will damage his cause for other important national topics, others believe that Obama’s silence will give Republicans political leverage in order to make the case that due to Obama’s polices, the United States is in fact less safe and the army is weaker as a result of his position in the United States government as the commander in chief.
Republicans are savoring this moment because Obama’s is not making the military a top priority on his list. As a result, this will give them the ability to make a stronger case against the Democrat’s majority in the house and senate. Republicans hope that Obama will continue his silence so that they may even hinder Obama’s resolution to pass healthcare reform.
Obama’s silence is due to his logical thought process, which he wants to undergo in order to make the best decision. Before becoming a U.S senator or the President of the United States, Obama was the professor of law at the University of Harvard. Obama needed this logical thought process in order to out compete with his political rivals, which is one of the positive characteristics he processed that gave him the ability to achieve such ventures as becoming a senator and eventually President. Obama is not stalling at all in my own opinion; rather he is taking his time to discuss the current condition of Afghanistan with his war council and the relation it shares to America’s national interests. Obama is a very intelligent person; he wants to know all the facts he can before he makes a hasty decision that may affect the future of the United States. Obama's greatest asset is his logical thought process. His logic won him his senate seat, and the presidency. Although, it is also his greatest weakness because he may be thinking about the best strategy for the United States, but as many other things, this also takes time. This time will give his political rivals the ability to ravage his political prestige and his character. Although I do not believe that Obama is working for a spot in the history books. Obama will do what he does best, which is to think. I know he wants the best possible results for America and I’m sure his decisions will reflect his own personal values and what he thinks is right rather than politically correct. If he does that at least, it will be a new age of politics in the United States.