Washington, Dec 6, 2009 - Editorial

President Obama has found himself in a position he likely never thought would develop.
The president is fending off his harshest criticism as commander in chief from his traditional allies, while receiving qualified support from those who have opposed him virtually every step of the way during the 10 months of his presidency.

Obama has committed 30,000 more troops to the Afghanistan war, angering many liberals across the country who backed him during the 2008 campaign. Meanwhile, his foes on the right are giving him generally high marks.

The president is walking a most tenuous tightrope. He must not fall off.

"The president did a good job of reminding us why Afghanistan is important," said U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, of Obama's speech Tuesday night in which he announced his Afghanistan policy.

But Thornberry, a member of the U.S. House Intelligence and Armed Services committees, has asked an appropriate question.

"Why, then, did the president pledge to start leaving Afghanistan by July 2011?"

The president's decision to start winding down our involvement in the next 18 months "sends confusing messages about our commitment" to winning the war in Afghanistan, Thornberry said.
Of particular concern is the confusion it might produce among our allies in the region, namely the Afghans themselves and the Pakistanis who are being pressured to provide more help in capturing or killing al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists.

"The people in Afghanistan and Pakistan are waiting to see if we are good and reliable friends," Thornberry said.

The White House is insisting that the deadline is fluid, and that the United States won't cut and run if July 2011 approaches and the Afghans are not yet ready to assume control of the battlefield. They say the president has offered the deadline as a goal, and not as an announced strategy.

President Obama had pledged during his winning 2008 campaign to listen intently to his field commanders. If they tell him in July 2011 that they cannot turn the fight over to the Afghans, then he must heed their best advice to fight on - even if it costs him allies on the left.