Waffling over Afghanistan
President Obama has scheduled multiple meetings with analysts, diplomats, soldiers, and scholars to hear various views on what to do about Afghanistan.
The Obama administration can’t decide what to do about Afghanistan, said Christoph von Marschall in Germany’s Der Tagesspiegel. The president and his national security advisors are now engaged “in open debate” over whether to send more troops—and, if so, whether
to concentrate them in the cities or spread them across the country. The president has scheduled multiple meetings with analysts, diplomats, soldiers, and scholars to hear various views. The military, of course, wants more troops. But others “have been drawing parallels to Vietnam.” There, too, the generals kept demanding more troops and the White House kept complying, and the whole endeavor ended in disaster. That’s why the Obama administration is correctly giving the matter so much thought. “The decision on troops can only come after a careful analysis.”
But the military is getting impatient, said Alex Spillius in Britain’s Daily Telegraph. The commander of forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, gave a speech in London last week warning against a long delay in a new troop deployment. “This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely, and nor will public support,” he said. McChrystal also pointedly noted that relying on drone strikes—the approach favored by Vice President Joe Biden—would turn the country into “Chaosistan.” The general’s outspokenness “shocked and angered presidential advisors,” and the very next day, Obama summoned McChrystal to an “awkward” meeting aboard Air Force One in Copenhagen, where the president was lobbying for Chicago’s Olympic bid.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Republicans loved McChrystal’s remarks, said Corine Lesnes in France’s Le Monde. Indeed, for the right wing, McChrystal “has replaced David Petraeus in the role of miracle general.” But then, Americans of both parties tend to revere their military figures. Before Petraeus it was Gen. John Abizaid, who was described admiringly as an Arabist educated at Harvard—just the person to solve the Iraq mess once and for all. He failed to do so, of course. Now, McChrystal is getting the star treatment from the U.S. press, which marvels at his “ascetic regime of just one meal a day” and harps on the fact that it was his unit that captured Saddam Hussein. This lionization lends McChrystal’s recommendation for more troops great weight with the American people, with many columnists now warning of a quagmire unless the general gets the troops he wants.
Europeans, at least, should hold off on sending more troops, said Germany’s Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten in an editorial. The U.S. has long been pushing for Germany to beef up its contingent in Afghanistan, and now that our elections have given us a more conservative government, there’s even more pressure for additional deployments. But it’s unclear what their mission would be. Obama “continues to wait for enlightenment”—and the world waits with him.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published