One of the legends told of King Solomon regards his decision concerning two mothers who both claimed a newborn baby was theirs. (A newly born baby had died the previous night and both mothers claimed the surviving baby was theirs) The King decided that since he couldn’t tell who was the actual mother, that the baby should be cut in two with each mother receiving half.  The real mother couldn’t bear to see her child killed and cried and cried.  She ultimately offered to allow the lying mother to have the baby so that her child could live.  Solomon, now knowing who the real mother was, awarded the baby to its rightful family.

When President Obama finally announced his policy on Afghanistan, he seemed to want to achieve contradictory goals simultaneously.  He told us that that Afghanistan was a vital national interest of the United States.  An interest so important, that tens of thousands of additional American soldiers needed to be quickly sent into battle.  Yet in the next breath, we were informed that they’d begin coming home in less than 18 months.

Not surprisingly, confusion was the result.  Over the weekend the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State both went on the TV talk shows to say that the firm date for beginning the withdrawal was flexible. Huh?

During the campaign candidate Obama repeatedly stated the Democratic mantra.  Afghanistan was the “good” war that was essential to be fought.  Iraq was a wasted war that needed to be ended. (Consequences be damned)

Back in the day, Mr. Obama went to great rhetorical lengths to deny that President Bush’s “surge” was the successful change in war strategy that salvaged the American effort in Iraq. Yet now that Obama is President, his war strategy of choice for Afghanistan looks eerily similar to Bush’s Iraq surge.

The left doesn’t want America to continue the fight in the land of rubble and rocks known as Afghanistan. They want America’s military to come home, consequences be damned. The President obviously feels he needs to appease his base, and thus sliced his Afghanistan policy in two.  The additional combat troops will go fight this war that he calls essential and necessary, but they will only stay for a few months.

Colin Powell

Obama’s policy, like Solomon’s decision to use a sword to cut the baby in two, makes nobody happy.  When it comes to matters of war, I think Colin Powell had it right. When fighting a war, “every resource and tool should be used to achieve decisive force against the enemy, minimizing casualties and ending the conflict as quickly as possible.”

While the logic of a timeline for withdrawal is intended to get local parties in Afghanistan to realize they must join the fray or be left without an American protectorate, I’m concerned the artificial deadline set by the President simply tells our blood enemies that America’s effort is determined by short term domestic political considerations rather than vital national security concerns.

It is said that war is too important to be left to the generals.  However, that assumes that the civilian commander in chief is not trying to have his cake and eat it to.