Afghan Troop Surge Just 'Political Cover' for Obama

President Obama doesn't really believe in the Afghanistan war, writes Charles Krauthammer, and Bob Woodward's book proves it. Sure, he increased troops and called it a "vital national interest," but he simultaneously told his team that he needed an exit strategy because "I can't lose the whole Democratic party." It's clear at this point that Obama views the war as a mistake, writes Krauthammer in the Washington Post, so why did he send more troops?

Obama looks like a president "who doesn't really want to win but is making some kind of political gesture. One who thinks he has to be seen as trying but is preparing the ground— meaning, the political cover—for failure." Krauthammer quotes Woodward as concluding that Obama "is out of Afghanistan psychologically." Adds Krauthammer: "Well, he may be out, but the soldiers he ordered to Afghanistan are in. Some will not come home." (More President Obama stories.)