Bob Woodward has been flying about D.C talking up his book, “Obama’s Wars”. And for good reason. He’s leveling very serious arguments against President Obama’s handling of the War in Afghanistan. He has already talked up a storm with Larry King. Now he’s delivered quite a few blows to the White House during a conversation with Charlie Rose.
The show turned out to be a stunning affair. It seemed as if Charlie Rose was belligerently excited to know about Obama’s decision-making and was quite frustrated that Woodward did not have as many answers as he posed questions. The questions attached to the ways in which Obama leveled up the war. Answers weren’t at the ready; only arguments.
So what are the arguments against President Obama’s moves to secure Afghanistan? That he was routed by his generals; that the military never offered anything but a 40,000 troop deployment number–no other options; that President Obama jumped on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ supposition that the U.S. could thin out some troops within 18-24 months, time ticking, resounding then in the White House War Room. (Keep in mind that according to Woodward, General Petraeus has accused the Karzai government of being a “criminal syndicate. The New York Times story published yesterday suggests that the government is in fact a crime family syndicate.)
The most serious charge, the one that he offered on the Charlie Rose show: that President Obama might not have the will to win in Afghanistan. That his hedging shows that though the man is comfortable with complexity, he is not a president equipped with the clarity of purpose that some associate with President Bush or other war time presidents. Moreover, Woodward has claimed that military leaders including Chairman of the Joint Chief Admiral Mike Mullen and current ISAF commander General David Petraeus willfully misled President Obama. In short, Woodward believes that President Obama has yet to prove himself as a war time president.
This is serious talk.
But please , don’t take my word for it. Please watch the episode and judge for yourself:
Please find the link to the show here.