Obama Finally Facing Reality in Afghanistan

Should Obama actually change his mind about Afghanistan, our elite journalists -- obsessed as they are with how the game is played -- will almost inevitably characterize this as vacillation and declare it a sign of political weakness. But that really misses the point. Full Story »

Posted by Derek Hawkins - via Patrick Ruffini, Real Clear Politics
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Posted by: via Patrick Ruffini - Sep 24, 2009 - 8:41 AM PDT
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Edited by: Derek Hawkins - Sep 24, 2009 - 9:18 AM PDT

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3.9
by Derek Hawkins - Sep. 24, 2009

Froomkin touches on something deeper than the imending "shift" in Obama's Afghan strategy: this piece says as much, if not more about the president's decision making process. Rather than approach foreign policy with an ideological framework, Froomkin says, Obama seems willing to make substantial changes based on new information. A simple point, but not what we see from a class of pundits coming off eight years covering a predecessor who did things much differently. Very well reasoned ... More »

I'm with Froomkin. After eight long years with a president who let dogma drive his foreign policy decisions, I'm more than grateful to see shrewd, ... More »

The most important thing to keep in mind here is that over the last several months, what’s emerged when it comes to Afghan policy is a sort of consensus of the ... More »

See Full Review » (13 answers)
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3.8
by Fabrice Florin - Sep. 26, 2009

Thoughtful opinion about the challenges facing President Obama in Afghanistan. Dan Froomkin presents fairly and factually some of the options ahead, as well as his own, well-reasoned perspective on what he suggests may be a 'lost cause.' The need for an exit strategy is also clearly articulated, along with helpful context about this important issue.

See Full Review » (11 answers)
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3.9
by Randy Morrow - Sep. 27, 2009

The consensus: That our national interests in Afghanistan are pretty limited and that the harder we try to change things over there, the more resistance we face; that ... More »

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4.6
by Cynthia Gilbert - Sep. 26, 2009
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3.1
by Judy Plapinger - Sep. 25, 2009

Dan Froomkin is persuasive in his main point that it would be a sign of strength not weakness were Obama to change his mind about staying in Afghanistan because of evidence and reassessment of the military strategy.

Though this opinion is persuasive, there's little discussion of what would happen if we did pull out of Afghanistan, especially what it would mean ... More »

See Full Review » (7 answers)
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4.3
by Patrick McGuire - Sep. 26, 2009

It is more of an essay than anything. It is the author's thoughts about Afghanistan and what Obama should be thinking about it.

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