Yet the AP "Military Writer" can conclude, in an article title "Obama Unlikely to Widen Afghan War":
President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to redirect U.S. troops and resources to Afghanistan from Iraq, but he has done little so far to suggest he will significantly widen the grinding war with insurgents in Afghanistan.
On the contrary, Obama appears likely to streamline the U.S. focus with an eye to the worsening economy and the cautionary example of the Iraq war that sapped political support for President George W. Bush.
"There's not simply a military solution to that problem," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said last week, and Obama believes "that only through long-term and sustainable development can we ever hope to turn around what's going on there."
I see. President Obama is helpless to reverse decisions made by President Bush. The forces are in motion, and the inertia means that Obama can't stop the train that has left the station. So since Obama isn't ordering further increases above what are planned, Obama is not significantly widening the war. Uh huh. Got it.
Fascinating analysis. President Bush couldn't buy this kind of fawning coverage. Obama said there is no military solution (and certainly non-military efforts are highly important), but doubling American troop strength to fight the Taliban counts for nothing in the face of words. Well, some words--the military writer ignores other words (that are even noted) that President Obama has uttered that indicate he will emphasize the war in Afghansitan over Iraq (And note, thank goodness he can do that because we have beaten our enemies in Iraq rather than doing it in a manner to lose in Iraq.)
I don't know what it takes to be an AP "military writer," but knowledge of warfare and the military is apparently not needed. Nor is 5th grade reading comprehension ability, it seems.
When the press turns on this war, it will be ugly. There will be a civil war among liberal writers. Some who are worshippers will defend President Obama to the death even if he uses nuclear weapons. And some will revert to traditional anti-war and anti-military attitudes to attack the war, spiced by a sense of betrayal.
