Wow -- Mullen Agrees with Obama (from tonight!)

This little bit of gold could not be more buried in an otherwise excellent WaPo piece for tomorrow entitled "Obama Shifts the Foreign Policy Debate". But two shockers from the piece:

1. Mullen -- the same Joint Chiefs Mullen who made news on Sunday for telling Fox that a timeline is "dangerous" -- told PBS today that he agrees with Obama that Afghanistan is a major problem and the only way to get more troops there is to take them from Iraq.

and

2. He said that he has strict priorities from the Commander-in-Chief to focus on Iraq first and foremost. Afghanistan is second.

Passage from WaPo:

The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, in an interview last night with PBS's "NewsHour," said he shares Obama's assessment that the situation in Afghanistan is "precarious and urgent." The 10,000 additional troops needed there, he said, would not be available "in any significant manner" unless there are withdrawals from Iraq.

For now, he said, "my priorities . . . given to me by the commander in chief are: Focus on Iraq first. It's been that way for some time. Focus on Afghanistan second."

•  Gee. Too bad Adm. Mullen will be retiring before

  the election. And what an odd coincidence...

  by Jacques on Tue Jul 22, 2008 at 09:03:49 PM PDT

•  Was he on FOX News when he made this statement?

  Because if so, it will surely get buried by the rest of the MSM.

  by mscharizmaa on Tue Jul 22, 2008 at 09:06:08 PM PDT

  •  No, PBS

    Which means it'll be buried by Fox. I just think it's amazing he gave this interview after McCain sent his Fox interview around far and wide.

    by lapis on Tue Jul 22, 2008 at 09:07:42 PM PDT

•  Does Mullen know when the Sunni Awakening began?

  Perhaps he can give a lesson in history to Sen. McCain't.

  by terence on Tue Jul 22, 2008 at 09:09:02 PM PDT

  •  "What's a Sunni? And why was he Sleep?"-McCain...

    by fromdabak on Tue Jul 22, 2008 at 09:33:26 PM PDT

•  Excellent catch

  That's where McCain should get hammered.  The BS that "now the Surge has Succeeded," we can put more troops in Afganistan--ain't I a brilliant CinC--how come that isn't challenged with the obvious, "well shit, imagine how we might have prevented Afganistan getting seriously sideways in the first place, if our troops hadn't been tied up in Iraq to begin with."

  Now add to that, that the military has been told that Iraq has priority over Afganistan.

  Is that how you win wars?  Fighting the wrong battles, neglecting the important ones?

  And tell me, is that listening to your generals in the field, when they tell you there's a dire situation, and they're told to suck it up, they get no troops because George's ego is tied up in Iraq?

  by sharman on Tue Jul 22, 2008 at 10:12:14 PM PDT

•  Too bad he couldn't say this on FOX. nt

  by AxmxZ on Tue Jul 22, 2008 at 10:58:18 PM PDT