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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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 OPINION 
26

Rove Warns Prez: Don't Leave Afghanistan to Biden

Obama should drop his 'aloof' approach and start listening to his commanders

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(Newser) – President Obama's hands-off approach to Afghanistan may suit his governing style but it's no way to win a war, writes Karl Rove. The president has only spoken with his top commander in Afghanistan once since June, notes Rove. This apparent indifference to conditions on the ground contrasts sharply with his predecessor's approach, Rove writes, and makes him more likely to listen to Joe Biden's recommendation that troops should be reduced in favor of striking al-Qaeda from offshore.

Biden has a "record rare in its consistency and duration of being wrong about big national security questions" and his approach would almost certainly lose the war, Rove argues in the Wall Street Journal. He cites the vice-president's support for "cutting and running" from Vietnam in 1972 and his opposition to Reagan-era policies. "Winning a shooting war requires a commander-in-chief's constant, direct and deep involvement," Rove writes, and Obama should get over to Afghanistan in person and start listening to his commanders.

An US soldier mans his machine gun from a helicopter protecting the aircraft from a possible enemy attack on the way to a base in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
An US soldier mans his machine gun from a helicopter protecting the aircraft from a possible enemy attack on the way to a base in Kandahar, Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A US Chinook helicopter carries a M777 A2 howitzer to a base southeast of Kabul.
A US Chinook helicopter carries a M777 A2 howitzer to a base southeast of Kabul.   (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Joe Biden meets with ISAF personnel in Kandahar, Afghanistan, earlier this year.
Joe Biden meets with ISAF personnel in Kandahar, Afghanistan, earlier this year.   (AP Photo/ISAF, Aramis X. Ramirez, HO)
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Refusing to provide all the troops and strategic support that his commanders are requesting will be to concede defeat. We'll soon know whether Mr. Obama has the judgment and the courage to win this war. - Karl Rove

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26 comments
VIEWING:
 
ifbit
Oct 1, 09 5:33 AM CDT
Obama needs to listen to in-the-shit warriors like Rove and Bush. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
-4
IN RESPONSE:
Doctor_Zaius
Oct 1, 09 6:11 AM CDT
Here, I fixed your mistakes for you: Obama needs to not listen to the pieces-of-shit scumbags like Rove and Bush.
Vote up! Vote down!
+5
IN RESPONSE:
ifbit
Oct 1, 09 6:17 AM CDT
Thanks, Doc Z. My keys have been sticking ever since I spilled my Kool Aid on them.
Vote up! Vote down!
-5
IN RESPONSE:
Reader64481089
Oct 1, 09 6:24 AM CDT
Let me see, last time a sitting President listened to Carl Rove was during a time the Bill of Rights was shredded, the Constitution was raped.. Oh yea, Rove has street cred, for being a jerk.
Vote up! Vote down!
+6
IN RESPONSE:
SilenceDogood
Oct 1, 09 7:14 AM CDT
You can mock Rove, but his point is valid. If you are the Commander in Chief, then do your job. That includes meeting and briefings with you commanders to assess this nations opportunities, strategies, liabilities and risks on the battlefield. Instead Obama is more concerned with golf, weekly TV spots, vacations and his political fallout regarding the Afghanistan war.
Vote up! Vote down!
+1

View all 26 comments »

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