Alacrity

At the end of August, General McCrystal requested more troops in Afghanistan, clearly stating that the outcome of the war is at stake. Six weeks have passed, and, now, it seems the President needs another month or two to consider whether to comply with the General's request.

Doesn't it seem a little odd that, even though the issue has plagued us for 25 years or so, the President has warned us that we need to pass health care reform immediately, without ever posting the legislation for public comment (anyone remember Candidate Obama promising that all legislation would be posted for 5 days, allowing public comment before it was passed),and without most of the legislators ever having read it (btw, according to WH Press Secretary Gibbs, neither has the President). This health care "crisis" is just the most recent in a list of "crises" (Stimulus, Bail Outs, etc.) that have demanded immediate attention, and added trillions of dollars to our National debt in only 8 months!

Many of us have called for a stop to this Crisis Management style of government. We want Congress and the administration to slow down, to take time to think about it, to have a national debate, to work out the details, to craft compromises. Yet their only response has been, "There's no time - we must act NOW!"

How is it then, that the President has decided that General McCrystal's urgent request will be dealt with slowly and deliberately. Let me tell you a couple things I learned in the Marines. First, war is by its very nature one crisis after another, each of which demands immediate attention and definitive action. The worst possible personality lapse in military leadership is indecisiveness. I've been around Marines now for nearly 50 years, and I've only known one indecisive Marine Corps officer.

As Commander-in-Chief, the President's job is to set national military policy and ensure that the military has all the support it needs to successfully accomplish its mission. During wartime, the President responds to military requests by first seeking counsel from his National Security staff, the Joint Chiefs, and his Generals in the field, and then making decisions and acting in a timely fashion. Instead of doing the job he has sworn to do, President Obama is polling, testing the waters, feeling out his left wing base, seeing which way the winds of public support are blowing, and otherwise dithering on General McCrystal's request.

I wish he would reverse his priorities, and dither a little on health care, cap and trade, etc., and show a little real leadership on this truly critical military issue. Remember, President Obama has clearly stated on many occasions that "Afghanistan is the good war." This is his war with his hand picked General. If he really wants to win, he needs to act like it. We need a Commander-in-Chief, not a politician.