Sword and Sextant

McChrystal has definitely dropped a bombshell on the Obama administration, and on our nation as a whole.

With his report, he clearly states that the war in Afghanistan will become unwinnable if we do not make clear moves to leave or to strengthen our position. Moreover, he will resign if the President doesn’t send more troops.

The question is: What now?

The three options, completely boiled down, are to leave now, do nothing different, or turn up the heat to win the war. Of the three, the easiest by far is to leave.

Leaving now prevents our further expenditure in the war, and removes us ostensibly from Afghan affairs. The area will almost certainly become a terrorist stronghold, with the Taliban coming back into power. It will also teach rogue nations that, at least under this President, simply resisting and being obstinate will make us leave. Ask Poland about that.

Doing nothing is a horrible idea, as we will continue to lose ground, lives, and money as we struggle below water in a land quite unkind to the USSR. This is hardly an option, as the General and the President aren’t willing to agree on that at the moment.

Door #3 is winning the war with superior force, troops all over hell, and what some righties would be delighted to call a “surge”. Sadly, this option is not near as wonderful as it looks, even though I wish it were. We have the money and troops to overrun Afghanistan, for sure, but we’re probably going to be at war with Iran very soon. Let’s discuss.

We will not allow Iran to get weapons to wipe Israel off the map, yet we cannot allow Israel to attack Iran, which they certainly will if we don’t step in. The major difference is that we must hit first because if Israel attacks, every Middle Eastern nation will declare war on Israel, we will have to step in, and Russia will probably step in against us, with North Korea and Venezuela, all nuclear nations, scary as that might be.

In that light, Obama has a Hard-mode choice to make. He’s the main guy, regardless of what anyone thinks of him, and he’s got three tough options on the table. But what would a conservative blogger do? Glad you asked.

My opinion is not yet set in stone, but here are some pithy comments. I suppose I would set up shop in Afghanistan with the intention of launching the eventual attack on Iran from that area. I would expend enough energy to set up a massive base of operations in Afghanistan. We must simply swallow the bitter pill of backing that horrid regime, but Iran is the biggest fish in the sea at the moment, and we cannot let Iran drive the world in to a World War, not to mention oil going to $400 a barrel or higher.