Politically speaking, the war in Afghanistan is starting to appear more and more like how the war in Iraq looked in 2007. The Democrats are looking to cut America’s losses by running; the Republicans (for the most part) are advocating that the United States hunker down and seek victory. But there is one major difference: We now have a Democratic president. Today, the Associated Press reports:
This comes only days after vocal opposition to the war from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Carl Levin. In a few more days, many other Democratic politicians will likely join the ranks. On the flip-side, conservatives have largely sided with President Obama (especially amazing considering the bitter fight over health-care). Today, for example, Senators McCain, Graham, and Lieberman argue yet again that Afghanistan is of vital interest to America. The senators applaud President Obama for his strategy and chosen commanders. And last week, prominent conservatives wrote an open letter to the president that favorably spoke of his actions regarding Afghanistan. President Obama’s courage-both political and moral-will be tested over the coming months, especially in how he responds to General Stanley McChrystal’s strategic review of the war in Afghanistan. So far, fortunately, it seems that the president realizes that the stakes are too high to fall victim to partisan politics.
