WHAT IS THIS ABOUT? - AT 10:39 P.M. ET:  It's perfectly fine for a president to look at any advice with skepticism, even military advice, but I get an uneasy feeling when I read this, from The Politico:

President Barack Obama is warning U.S. commanders that he’s “skeptical” about whether more troops will make a difference in Afghanistan, saying he’ll approve an upcoming request only if the forces fit into a strategy to beat back al-Qaida and protect the United States.

“Until I'm satisfied that we've got the right strategy I'm not gonna be sending some young man or woman over there — beyond what we already have,” Obama said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I'm not interested in just being in Afghanistan for the sake of being in Afghanistan or saving face or, in some way – you know, sending a message that America is here for the duration.”

U.S. generals are preparing to seek as many as tens of thousands additional troops for the increasingly unpopular conflict, but in several of his five Sunday talk show interviews, Obama made clear that he’s far from convinced about the need for a massive infusion of troops and won’t be rushed on the decision.

COMMENT:  I wish the president had been as skeptical about ACORN, or hiring Van Jones, or sending hundreds of billions in stimulus money down the drain, or...

And since we're at war in Afghanistan, don't you think, Mr. President, that you should have addressed our strategy as the first item of business, not something looked at eight full months later?  Is this a priority, or not?

This looks like another sop to the hard left of the Democratic Party, which opposes sending any more troops to Afghanistan, or anywhere else for that matter.  There may well be fully legitimate reasons to question troop numbers.  But why do I think the president's statement is political, rather than military? 

Is he about to pull the plug on Afghanistan, and blame BUSH (!!)?  He's gotten away with abusing Poland, the Czech Republic, Honduras, South Korea, Israel, Britain, even Canada.  Maybe he thinks he's on a roll that even Neville Chamberlain would envy.

September 20, 2009