Obama today agreed to commit an additional 40,000 troops

...to help fight Fox News. Jay Leno

In an attack on the press that we haven’t seen since Nixon’s “enemies” list Obama continues his war with Fox News.

“This is an administration that's getting very arrogant and slippery in its dealings with people. And if you dare to oppose them, they're going to come hard at you and they're going to cut your legs off." Karl Rove

No kidding. It’s ominous but in keeping with the attacks on the health care and insurance industry when they oppose him. When managed care provider Humana published a letter to its members warning them of potential drastic cuts to the Medicare Advantage program Centers for Medicare and Medicaid sent this order:

“As we continue our research into this issue, we are instructing you to immediately discontinue all such mailings to beneficiaries and to remove any related materials directed to Medicare enrollees from your Web sites”

When the insurance industry’s trade association released a report saying a measure in the Senate Finance Committee would produce sharp increases in premiums for millions of people who currently have insurance the Dems launched a drive in both Houses to strip the industry of its decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has come under attack even though they began with a friendly attitude towards this administration. Disagreements with Obama over the “crap and tax” legislation and on socialized medicine have put the Chamber square in the sights for punishment. These attacks against the Second Amendment rights of citizens are part and parcel of the Chicago Way and should come as no surprise to anyone who was aware of the political climate Obama came out of. Still one could only wish they would fight the war in Afghanistan with the same zeal they attack domestic opponents of Obama’s policies.

“If the Afghan government falls to the Taliban – or allows al-Qaeda to go unchallenged – that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can.” March 27, 2009 Barak Obama announcing a comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan.

“I will give you a clear mission, defined goals, and the equipment and support you need to get the job done. That’s my commitment to you.” August 17, 2009 Obama’s promise to America’s armed forces speaking at the VFW.

Granted this President hasn’t had a stellar performance in fulfilling his promises, Jim Geraghty’s quip that everything he says has an expiration date has really caught on, but that promise has life and death consequences, not just to our troops but to the security and reputation of our nation. It has now been seven weeks since General McChrystal requested 40,000 additional troops be sent to Afghanistan ASAP, and the President has yet to decide whether he will listen to his handpicked General on the ground or follow the advice of military genius “Oh that Joe!” Biden. Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that Obama had not even decided when a decision would be reached. Obama has only managed to squeak McChrystal into his busy schedule a couple times and Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters Tuesday that he is working to get face time with the commander in chief.

Having turned the tide in Iraq by routing the radical Islamists there, a front Al-Qaeda’s Ayman Zawahiri said was crucial to restoration of the Caliphate; the terrorist enemies of Democracy have stepped up their efforts in Afghanistan. This makes sense because there is nowhere else to go to fight for global jihad. None the less, having won the war on one front President Obama may have decided that we should abandon it on the other; this at a time when Pakistan has finally begun to recognize that the Taliban presents more danger to its fragile Democracy than its value as a thorn to India justifies. Reacting to a Taliban breakout from the Swat region that threatened Islamabad itself as well as stepped up terror attacks the Pakistani forces have launched a major offensive against Taliban sanctuaries in South Waziristan. While pressure is being applied in Pakistan the situation presents itself for a modified hammer and anvil tactic against the Taliban forces in both regions. While there are not enough forces on either side to be a classic hammer or anvil that could crush and destroy the Taliban the Pakistanis can drive significant forces out of the region. If we could gain sufficient control of the areas they would like to flee into we could then further stress those troops into giving up or retreating into Iran. However we need to be more than a collection of isolated firebases spread out over the countryside. General McChrystal’s counterinsurgency strategy is designed to actually clear and hold territory and that would give us the presence and intelligence to be at least a modified anvil to deny them a safe haven.

Obama will wait till after the November elections before angering his base and probably sending some troops, a McChrystal light strategy that he will figure is the most politically expediant course. It may be too little too late. It's too bad that he will be a politicain first and Commander in Chief second but that's where we are. If he would commit to victory can anyone doubt that this military can win?