The war in Afghanistan was seen by most in this country as the legitimate war. The war in Iraq, which far fewer supported through to its successful end, was considered Bush’s war (it was mine too, and everyone who supported it and voted for it – war’s are not things you change your mind over).

The war in Afghanistan struck at the heart of Islamo Fascism. It was from there that 9-11 and numerous other attacks on the West (going back to the first WTC attacks in 1993) were conceived and launched. It was the training ground for al Qaeda, the headquarters of al Qaeda. It was the snake pit which needed to be cleansed.

President Bush left the Afghanistan conflict well staged to be won. The Pakistanis have surrounded their federally administered tribal areas and cleansed much of it of radical terrorists. The sanctuary for terrorists has been shrinking for years. Now they hide out in small villages running for their lives from our unmanned drones and their missiles. Their attacks have become less and less successful and bloody. Their recruits are drying up, their money running short. By all accounts they are on the verge of collapsing in the coming year or so.

To the North in Afghanistan the US/NATO/Afghan forces are on the verge of winning as well, though they need more personnel to push pass the tipping point. The terrorist Taliban and their al Qaeda allies are cornered and putting up a fight, like the trapped animals they are. The NGO’s are in country and doing great work. One person I talked to told me childhood death due to illness and malnutrition had gone from something like 3,000 a year to 300. Afghans are emerging from the darkness in most parts of the country.

Now, after 8 years of war, bloodshed and too many fallen heros from too many countries, our young and inexperienced President is frozen with indecision. After announcing a counter-insurgent plan for Afghanistan in March of this year (the right plan), similar to the one that broke the back of resistance in Iraq and turned al Qaeda from the Future of Islam to the Enemy of Islam, President Obama is hesitating on whether to actually execute his own pronounced policy.

His own hand picked general in the region is about to teach this young President a harsh lesson in leadership, honor and responsibility:

Within 24 hours of the leak of the Afghanistan assessment to The Washington Post, General Stanley McChrystal’s team fired its second shot across the bow of the Obama administration. According to McClatchy, military officers close to General McChrystal said he is prepared to resign if he isn’t given sufficient resources (read “troops”) to implement a change of direction in Afghanistan …

We have a newly promoted Marine Lance Corporal in the family, and we are very proud of him and his achievements. If President Bush was in office right now we would be as comfortable as possible with the idea of him heading to Afghanistan to do the good work of this nation.

But no one should take his willingness to risk the ultimate sacrifice for granted. No one should play political dodge ball with all the lives of the Americans in Afghanistan, all those who will be going, and all those who sacrificed there. Not to mention the NATO forces and their sacrifices, and of course our Afghan allies as well. This is not a time for political calculation. It is a time for determination and pushing through the final barriers to success. It is were leaders rise and losers fade to the side.

President Obama is hesitating because he has screwed up so badly on so many fronts he is in danger of losing his mindless (and gutless) liberal base. But if Americans can sacrifice their lives for America in Afghanistan, our young President can surely take on the wrath of the rabid far left to honor those sacrifices. Or one would think so.

President Obama, if you do not fulfill your promise to finish the war in Afghanistan with success, if you do not get Bin Laden (as you said you would all through the campaign), if you end up losing your hand picked general to your own incompetence and crass political machinations, you sir are a failure. Is it possible you, sir, had no idea what you were saying when you committed to winning the war in March? Or did you think you could just reword things to mean something else later?

So far you have been quasi-disaster, trying to get your bearings as all new presidents do. But you cannot leave our fighting forces hanging. You cannot hold back what they need to win and stay safe. You have broken lots of promises, dreams and bonds. This one will be straw that destroys your presidency and your party.

And I include the Democrat party because I better hear some loud voices coming from moderate/centrist Dems supporting General McChrystal and his requests. And I mean now. There needs to be an honest chorus from the Dems to do the right thing, to make it clear their party has some small piece of brave America left in it. I don’t expect the liberal loons to chime in, but if the Dems want to be a broad party that can win state and national elections this is your litmus test. Fail this, let your party’s president slink away from this responsibility, and it will be just as much your fault as his.

Update: President O-Bumble is at it again. While our brave men and women are in Afghanistan risking their lives he is clowning around on late night TV. It seems he has time to mug to every TV camera in sight, but doesn’t have time to make a damn simple decision. Pathetic.

We have a Lame Duck in the White House.