The All Too Quiet Surge

Just like there's a psychological impact of "talking down" this economy, there's a psychological component to winning a war.

For a guy who can't seem to go to the bathroom without thinking he has to give a 20-minute speech beforehand, Obama quietly sent 17,000 additional troops into Afghanistan with a simple written order. There was no speech. There was no press conference. No fanfare. Just a quiet, and hardly transparent, executive order (See Full Story).

The national media was just as quiet too. No front page hysteria as was the case whenever George Bush sent more troops into war. Not for Mr. Obama.

This is surprising to me because Obama campaigned on the fact that our focus should have been Afghanistan and not Iraq. He made it clear that he was going to raise the stakes in that country as soon as he got into office.

But, I think he is seeing, as I think I am seeing, that many of this country are tiring of the Afghanistan war. Everyday, Afghanistan is looking more like another Vietnam. Not just to the people of this country but to the military observers that are closely following it (See Full Story).

You have the equivalent of North Vietnam in the border areas of Pakistan. Those who live along that border, both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan, are more loyal to the Taliban than they are to their central governments in Kabul or in Islamabad. It is like the "Wild West" in that part of world with the local warlords having all the power.

Even so, I think that Obama would have best served the troops that are fighting over there by making a "show" out of sending 17,000 more troops to fight that fight. That's because there's a lot of psychology involved in winning any war. First, you need the home front to be engaged and believe that the war is winnable. Sending in more troops shows that we, as a country, are committed to winning. Secondly, an announced troop increase puts our enemy on psychological notice. Hyping that fact could give us a mental edge in that war.

I just think that Obama (or, his advisers) don't understand the psychological importance of being a leader. They absolutely don't seem to know how to use the "bully pulpit" the way it should be used. He talks down the economy when he should be cheerleading. He says nothing when he should be scaring our enemy into submission. But, this is consistent with a lot of his campaign talk. He wants to talk, without precondition, with our enemies; and, at the same time, he publicly denounces our friends, like Pakistan or Israel. He has constantly criticized the elected leader of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai; yet, he needs that person's support in winning the war. Personally, I think Obama has a lot to learn and I don't think he'll learn fast enough before we get ourselves into some serious trouble. And, that's just my opinion.