Column:

Obama needs to make a decision in regard to Afghanistan

By Eric Hobbs

Published Nov. 6, 2009

Some choices in life are not that hard to make. Even when faced with the most difficult decisions, we often try to make the best decision possible, as quickly as possible. This applies not only to our personal lives but also in the workplace.

One of the "seven hats" of the presidency is to serve as commander in chief. This makes it President Barack Obama's job to be able to make quick decisions regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The president needs to make up his mind about sending troops to Afghanistan. As a bit of background, Commanding General Stanley McChrystal submitted a report with a request for an additional 40,000 troops to be deployed. That occurred Aug. 30.

Since then, Obama has flown to Copenhagen to lobby for the Olympics, appeared on David Letterman's talk show, hosted an "astronomy night" and won a Nobel Peace Prize.

To be fair to the administration, Obama said he did not want to make a decision about a potential troop increase in the midst of the Afghan elections. Now that Abdullah Abdullah has dropped out of the election and conceded to incumbent President Hamid Karzai, the only excuse Obama had for delaying his decision is gone, as House Minority Leader John Boehner pointed out Monday.

It's troublesome that the president would hold off on a decision this long, especially when the request states a failure to gain momentum in the coming year means the insurgency could become impossible to defeat.

When the commanding general predicts the loss of a war unless more troops are deployed, it seems like a no-brainer. Send the troops to win the war, further establish democracy in Afghanistan and win so we can get the troops home without abandoning the Afghan people.

Others have made different proposals, including Vice President Joe Biden. McChrystal swiftly shot down this and all other alternatives, insisting the only option that would help the situation is to send more troops.

Critics of McChrystal claim his public criticism of Obama and public calls for more troops demonstrate he does not know what he's doing. They think he is in over his head entering the political realm.

I disagree.

By making his thoughts public, McChrystal has built up support for his plan. At the same time, he has built up opposition to Obama, and that opposition keeps building as time passes.

With Republicans claiming overwhelming victories in the elections Tuesday, Obama will surely feel more pressure to at least make a decision. If he decided to pull all the troops out of Afghanistan on Friday, many would believe it to be the wrong choice, but we would at least have to respect the fact that he made a decision based on what he believed was best for America.

As the general's request collects dust, more and more soldiers die while their commander in chief hangs them out to dry. Although I believe the correct decision would be to send the troops the commanding general requests, Obama must make some decision so we all can adjust and move forward establishing freedom in Afghanistan.

Eric Hobbs is the vice chairman of the Mizzou College Republicans. He can be reached at emhn75@mail.mizzou.edu.