A Turn of Events for Barack Obama:Life After Winning the Big Election

By Anna Martini

Life after winning the big election for Barack Obama has been anything but easy.  After failing to close Guatanamo, causing the biggest “stimulus” driven deficit the world has ever seen and running into strong opposition to his health care reform efforts, reality has finally set in for Obama and the Democratic Party.  Campaigning is one thing, governing is quite another. 

One of the most pressing problems he faces today is the call for more troops in Afghanistan.  Although he knows it needs to be done, the president faces stiff opposition from his own party.  His liberal base is especially upset because he assured citizens during his campaign that he would be taking soldiers out of harm’s way.  The whole matter has the Democratic Party and its liberal wing tied up in knots.  I actually support the president on this because clearly the US and its allies haven’t solved the “Taliban problem” we set out to correct so many years ago.  As Admiral Mullen was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, “A properly resourced counterinsurgency probably means more forces.”  The situation in Afghanistan obviously needs to be improved.  Either we do what is necessary or we reduce the danger to our soldiers by pulling out.  The president and the Democrat-controlled Congress must decide what to do, and quickly. The top general on the war in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, who most believe knows what he is talking about, is calling for more troops in the face of  increasing violence by the Taliban forces in the past few weeks.  If we just “wait and see” as Obama is attempting to do purely out of political concern, the situation will only get worse for our brave men and women in uniform and for those living in Afghanistan.  I think the president should take the advice of his military experts and those in Congress like Senator McCain if he wants to stay engaged in Afghanistan: more troops are needed if the situation is to improve.  Obama, as was apparent during his campaign and throughout his first months in office, still has a lot to learn about leadership.  Let’s just hope in the coming weeks he makes the right decision.