Can Obama Avoid the “Bog of History” in Afghanistan?
As President Obama and Secretary Gates contemplate what to do, and not to do, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, they face the same questions, especially of character, as several modern presidents. What they decide will determine if they are swallowed up by the “bog of history” as were Johnson and Nixon (by Vietnam). Alternatively, they can rise above the shadow of domestic politics in their national security decision-making and “halt inconclusive military operations in Korea and Lebanon before they consumed America’s strength,” as Eisenhower and Reagan did. To make this decision, neither Obama nor Gates seem to be getting much constructive help from those who ostensibly serve them. The key issue is articulately explained by retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor in a commentary published by Defense News on Sept. 28, 2009. This important commentary is also reproduced below. Macgregor is also the author of the new book “Warrior’s Rage: The Great Tank Battle of 73 Easting” about the failure of Am
