Next Tuesday, President Obama is scheduled to announce his decision on Afghanistan and it is widely expected that he will be increasing troop levels by 30 to 40 thousand.
Predictably, there have been a number of diaries complaining that this is some kind of betrayal, reversal or change in what Obama the candidate had promised during the campaign. There have been expressions of shock or surprise, with some commentators saying "if we had known that he was going to do this, we never would have voted for him".
I, for one, was actually paying attention during the election and remember Obama repeatedly saying he would do exactly what he is (supposedly) about to do. But, recognizing that some may not have been watching or have suffered memory loss since 2008, I have taken the trouble to research Obama’s position on Afghanistan from mid 2007 to Oct. 2008; just before the election of November 04, 2008.
Candidate Obama made his first "official" policy statement in reply to an attack by Hillary Clinton:
Obama to Propose Funds for Afghanistan, Harder Line in Pakistan
July 15, 2007
Sen. Barack Obama will propose deploying two additional U.S brigades to Afghanistan in a speech Wednesday mapping out his approach to combating terrorism, an adviser said.
Following up on his vigorous debate with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton over how to handle leaders of hostile states, Obama will "talk forthrightly" about the need to take action across the border in Pakistan if United States intelligence officials believe they have actionable intelligence about terrorist activity.
Remarks of Senator Obama: The War We Need to Win
Washington, DC
August 01, 2007
We did not finish the job against al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We did not develop new capabilities to defeat a new enemy, or launch a comprehensive strategy to dry up the terrorists' base of support. We did not reaffirm our basic values, or secure our homeland.
It is time to turn the page. When I am President, we will wage the war that has to be won, with a comprehensive strategy with five elements: getting out of Iraq and on to the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan; developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and the world's most deadly weapons; engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism; restoring our values; and securing a more resilient homeland.
The first step must be getting off the wrong battlefield in Iraq, and taking the fight to the terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In a speech in New Hampshire in 2007, Barack Obama pointed out that the current U.S. strategy was costing more support than it was destroying terrorists. "We've got to get the job done" he stressed. The right attacked him for maligning the troops
Obama's comments on Afghanistan draw sharp rebuke from Romney campaign
Aug 14, 2007
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama came under fire Tuesday for saying that U.S. troops in Afghanistan are "just air-raiding villages and killing civilians." The junior senator from Illinois made the comment Monday at a campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire.
"We've got to get the job done there," he said of Afghanistan. "And that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there."
In another speech in New Hampshire in January 2008, Candidate Obama repeated his pledge to get troops out of Iraq and to finish the job in Afghanistan.
New York Times: Barack Obama’s New Hampshire Primary Speech
January 08, 2008
We will end this war in Iraq. We will bring our troops home. We will finish the job -- we will finish the job against Al Qaida in Afghanistan.
As the campaign started to heat up, John McCain began to address the Afghanistan issue calling for a repeat of the "surge" in troops that supposedly was successful in Iraq. Obama again restated his position expressed in 2007.
McCain Will Call for a Surge of Troops to Afghanistan
July 15, 2008
Senator Obama has since August 2007 called for the deployment of at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan and has said he will work to cajole the Pakistani military into fighting again.
Boston Globe, July 15, 2008:
In what is being billed as a major policy speech, Obama declared this morning that if elected president, he would redirect attention and US forces to Afghanistan.
"It is unacceptable that almost seven years after nearly 3,000 Americans were killed on our soil, the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still at large," he said. "Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahari are recording messages to their followers and plotting more terror. The Taliban controls parts of Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has an expanding base in Pakistan that is probably no farther from their old Afghan sanctuary than a train ride from Washington to Philadelphia."
"As President, I will pursue a tough, smart and principled national security strategy -- one that recognizes that we have interests not just in Baghdad, but in Kandahar and Karachi, in Tokyo and London, in Beijing and Berlin," he continued. "I will focus this strategy on five goals essential to making America safer: ending the war in Iraq responsibly; finishing the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban; securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states; achieving true energy security; and rebuilding our alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century."
Obama reiterated the need for more troops but that troops alone would not be enough. The situation in Afghanistan was "urgent".
Obama calls situation in Afghanistan 'urgent'
July 21, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama said Sunday that United States needs to focus on Afghanistan in its battle against terrorism.
"I think one of the biggest mistakes we've made strategically after 9/11 was to fail to finish the job here, focus our attention here. We got distracted by Iraq," he said.
Obama said troop levels must increase in Afghanistan.
"For at least a year now, I have called for two additional brigades, perhaps three," he told CBS. "I think it's very important that we unify command more effectively to coordinate our military activities. But military alone is not going to be enough."
In the first debate again the question of an increase in troops for Afghanistan was repeated. In the second debate the question of widening the war, with comparisons to Nixon and Vietnam were mentioned (accusations currently being repeated by the Left now). Obama’s reply was clear "if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act and we will take them out."
Obama restated this position again in the first debate in September 2008, stating that the U.S. did not finish the job and the need to capture and kill bin Laden and to crush al Qaeda was the mission.
The First Presidential Debate
September 26, 2008
Following is a transcript of the first presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama in Oxford, Miss., as recorded by CQ Transcriptions:
LEHRER: Two minutes, how you see the lessons of Iraq, Senator Obama.
OBAMA: Well, this is an area where Senator McCain and I have a fundamental difference because I think the first question is whether we should have gone into the war in the first place.
Now six years ago, I stood up and opposed this war at a time when it was politically risky to do so because I said that not only did we not know how much it was going to cost, what our exit strategy might be, how it would affect our relationships around the world, and whether our intelligence was sound, but also because we hadn't finished the job in Afghanistan.
We hadn't caught bin Laden. We hadn't put al Qaeda to rest, and as a consequence, I thought that it was going to be a distraction. ..
We took our eye off the ball.... I think the lesson to be drawn is that we should never hesitate to use military force, and I will not, as president, in order to keep the American people safe. But we have to use our military wisely. And we did not use our military wisely in Iraq.
OBAMA: We have seen Afghanistan worsen, deteriorate. We need more troops there. We need more resources there. Senator McCain, in the rush to go into Iraq, said, you know what? We've been successful in Afghanistan. There is nobody who can pose a threat to us there.
This is a time when bin Laden was still out, and now they've reconstituted themselves. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates himself acknowledges the war on terrorism started in Afghanistan and it needs to end there.
But we can't do it if we are not willing to give Iraq back its country. Now, what I've said is we should end this war responsibly. We should do it in phases. But in 16 months we should be able to reduce our combat troops, put -- provide some relief to military families and our troops and bolster our efforts in Afghanistan so that we can capture and kill bin Laden and crush al Qaeda.
In the second debate the question of widening the war, with comparisons to Nixon and Vietnam were mentioned (accusations currently being repeated by the Left now). Obama’s reply was clear "if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act and we will take them out."
The Second Presidential Debate
October 07, 2008
Following is a transcript of the second presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama in Nashville, as recorded by CQ Transcriptions:
QUESTION: Should the United States respect Pakistani sovereignty and not pursue al Qaeda terrorists who maintain bases there, or should we ignore their borders and pursue our enemies like we did in Cambodia during the Vietnam War?
OBAMA: Katie, it's a terrific question and we have a difficult situation in Pakistan. I believe that part of the reason we have a difficult situation is because we made a bad judgment going into Iraq in the first place when we hadn't finished the job of hunting down bin Laden and crushing al Qaeda.
So what happened was we got distracted, we diverted resources, and ultimately bin Laden escaped, set up base camps in the mountains of Pakistan in the northwest provinces there.
They are now raiding our troops in Afghanistan, destabilizing the situation. They're stronger now than at any time since 2001. And that's why I think it's so important for us to reverse course, because that's the central front on terrorism.
They are plotting to kill Americans right now. As Secretary Gates, the defense secretary, said, the war against terrorism began in that region and that's where it will end. So part of the reason I think it's so important for us to end the war in Iraq is to be able to get more troops into Afghanistan, put more pressure on the Afghan government to do what it needs to do, eliminate some of the drug trafficking that's funding terrorism.
And if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act and we will take them out. We will kill bin Laden; we will crush Al Qaida. That has to be our biggest national security priority.
BROKAW: Can I get a quick response from the two of you about developments in Afghanistan this week?
OBAMA: I'll be very brief. We are going to have to make the Iraqi government start taking more responsibility, withdraw our troops in a responsible way over time, because we're going to have to put some additional troops in Afghanistan.
Less than two weeks before the Presidential election, Obama gave a speech on national security in which he again repeated his plan to send 2 to 3 additional combat brigades to Afghanistan.
Obama's Remarks on National Security in Richmond, Virginia.
October 22, 2008
• "It’s time to heed the call from General McKiernan and others for more troops. That’s why I’d send at least two or three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan. We also need more training for Afghan Security forces, more non-military assistance to help Afghans develop alternatives to poppy farming, more safeguards to prevent corruption, and a new effort to crack down on cross-border terrorism. Only a comprehensive strategy that prioritizes Afghanistan and the fight against al Qaeda will succeed, and that’s the change I’ll bring to the White House."
So to those of the Reality Based community who are now claiming that President Obama is acting contrary to what Candidate Obama promised or suggested he would do; the lesson is clear, don’t let fantasy of what you WANT to be true cloud your perception of what IS true.
President Obama is doing exactly what he said he would do, promised to do and vigorously argued HAD to be done. It is a little late to be criticizing him for keeping his promises now.
