Elasticity to Listen to Obama, The Great Persuader

How much elasticity is left in the American Public to listen to Obama, The Great Persuader, to convince America and the World that he is committed to exacting a win of sort from Afghanistan while the troops will likely be on their way on Wednesday, right after the Tuesday speech? According to the Washington Post editorial today, as posted with the same title as my post two weeks ago, the President must convince that he has convinced himself before being effective at bringing his public along.

There has been so much airing of public doubt and deliberation in the process that announcing troop deployments will compound exasperation among the swell of liberals against the war. Announcing expansion will garner support from Republican conservatives. Obama’s decision will have accomplished what Republicans could not do alone. It will split the Democrats so severely that, all convincing aside, the game is over.

Still remaining, funding the initiative. Democrats can argue convincingly that continuing the war will break the bank and violates the President’s campaign pledge to withdraw from wars in the region. It should not be the US mission to make a state of Afghanistan. The mission should be to get Osama bin Laden.

Calling Mrs. Clinton, where is the Secretary of State when we need her?

“I can tell you … that it is in our strategic interest, in our national security interest, to make sure that al-Qaida and its extremist allies cannot operate effectively in those areas,” Obama said. “We are going to dismantle and degrade their capabilities and ultimately dismantle and destroy their networks. And Afghanistan’s stability is important to that process.”

YJ

[q url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/28/AR2009112802116.html]

“The Afghan decision

President Obama must convince the world that he himself is convinced.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

One of Mr. Obama's dilemmas this week will be the need to address multiple audiences with competing interests, from dovish House Democrats to suspicious Pakistani generals. The president has already been aiming reassurances at his domestic audience, such as his promise last week to "finish the job" in Afghanistan -- and his spokesman's declaration that "we're not going to be there another eight or nine years." But the most important messages will be those received in the war zone. Experts concur that a large majority of Afghans do not wish to see a resurgence of the Taliban but that many will be inclined to support the side that they believe is most likely to prevail. Pakistan's military commanders, too, will carefully measure U.S. resolve before deciding to break irrevocably with the Afghan Taliban leaders based in their country. If the new American strategy is cluttered with "exit ramps" or closely linked to timetables, the effect of the additional troops will be undermined.”

 [/q]