Decision Making

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34292844/ns/politics-the_new_york_times/

This article gives insight into how Obama came to his troop surge decision for Afghanistan.

I think Obama came to the right decision. It is important that America wins the war in Afghanistan. Failure will embolden our enemies and ensure Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorists in the future. It is also important we leave Afghanistan as quickly as possible (as soon as Afghanistan can handle its own security and the Taliban can no longer operate there).

There were two portions of this article that I want to focus on (not really the decision itself). The first is a topic I feel liberals are on the wrong side of; the notion that Obama' decision making methods are better than Bush's were:

"The episode underscored the uneasy relationship between the military and a new president who, aides said, was determined not to be as deferential as he believed his predecessor, George W. Bush, was for years in Iraq. And the military needed to adjust to a less experienced but more skeptical commander in chief. 'We’d been chugging along for eight years under an administration that had become very adept at managing war in a certain way,' said another military official."

It does appear that Bush and Obama deliberate and decide on war strategy differently. But I find it interesting that, in all likelihood, an extremely similar decision would have been made if Bush was currently in office. Bush may have delegated and trusted his staff more, but the goals of the two for foreign occupation appear to be the same: do what is best for the security of America, and leave as quickly as possible. So what if Bush took less time or did not ask as many questions before reaching his decisions? Maybe Bush came to his decisions quicker because his staff was better equipped to handle the situation and give Bush what he wanted to know. I have a lot of respect for the investigative work Obama did, but I also have respect for Bush's ability to delegate and trust people with more experience in the area. While the management styles are different, both show great leadership qualities.

The other portion of this article I wanted to focus on was this:

"'What I’m looking for is a surge,' Mr. Obama said. 'This has to be a surge.'"

I do not think enough attention has been made of the fact Obama basically made the same decision with Afghanistan that Bush came to with Iraq. Send in a large amount of troops, stabilize the region quickly and for enough time to train security forces, and then leave as quickly as possible (you didn't forget that a timetable for withdrawl from Iraq was actually reached during the Bush administration, did you?). While I think it is accepted by most that Bush's troop surge worked in Afghanistan, I do not think he has received the credit he deserves for it by the mainstream media.

Until we meet again, goodbye!