Deciding Obama

NYT today has the story of Obama's decision to up the ante in Afghanistan. It's a pretty typical account of how the various factions made their case and how Obama processed information. If nothing else, it certainly proves that Obama is not CheneyBush when it comes to considering military action. The article, however, does show Obama to be well within America's military-centric mindset which, of course, should be no surprise to anyone who has studied this nation's post WWII history.

Still, I wish Obama had made this speech. He did not and I am sad. I do, however, find a small glimmer of hope in the NYT article. After announcing his decision to his national security team at the White House,

Mr. Obama then went to the Situation Room to call General McChrystal and Ambassador Eikenberry. The president made it clear that in the next assessment in December 2010 he would not contemplate more troops. “It will only be about the flexibility in how we draw down, not if we draw down,” he said.

That is a commitment Obama would do well to keep.