Vanilla Ice stole “Pressure” from Queen and David Bowie. “Pressure” was a pretty good song but the ridiculousness that is Vanilla Ice screwed it all up, right? Maybe. I kind of liked “Ice, Ice, Baby.” Plus, I found out about “Pressure” a lot sooner than I may otherwise have because Vanilla Ice stole it. Not to mention all that money Queen and David Bowie got on the second time around. See, things are not always what they seem.
Like the Presidents’ recent decision making process about Afghanistan. There’s some pressure like Freddy Mercury never knew. He’s pretty much embraced this war from the outset, and there was pretty good rationale for going in to begin with. So, why has he taken so long to come to a conclusion about his strategy? Because I hold a bachelor’s degree in history and political science (with a minor in English) I will tell you what is behind the President’s recent foreign policy move. And I will tell you it is a good, if not brilliant, move.
See, the thing is that the solution in Afghanistan (like the solution in Iraq, and the solution in Maryland) is political rather than military. And for quite some time now, we have been waiting to find out who the political leader is in Afghanistan. So why not say, “I’m waiting to see who wins the election, then I’ll figure out my strategy”? Well, that puts too much attention on, and too much of America’s dog in, the fight of that election. The last thing any candidate for election to any office in the Muslim world needs is for the Americans to come in and say “that’s my guy!” If Ronald Reagan were to rise from the dead and endorse the Ayatollah Khomeini for dogcatcher of Tehran, he would lose, lose, lose.
So, the best thing for Obama to do is to act as if the political situation in Afghanistan and the decision he has to make in terms of the military strategy have nothing whatsoever to do with each other, when in fact they have everything to do with each other. Not that he has denied this, he just hasn’t said anything one way or the other. And neither has anyone who works for him, including, for the most part, the generals. It’s this cool and discipline which allowed him to ride out the waning days of Hillary Clinton’s campaign and to not jump at the bait every time John McCain pulled stunts like suspending the campaign to deal with the economy. It’s the same cool and patience which is going to get a health care bill passed with, I betcha, a public option.
I can see how this comes across as aloof or arrogant sometimes. Or idiotic or weak. I really do hope, though, that the prestige of the United States in the region and the world is starting to get unhitched from impossible political situations. By doing so, those situations stand a better chance of being resolved, and, as an added bonus, our guys get to come home. It’s a win-win. Like with Vanilla Ice and Freddy Mercury.