Back to the Graveyard with a Bigger Shovel

At West Point this week, President Obama announced his plan to increase US combat missions in Afghanistan over the next 18 months, by sending an additional 30,000 troops, before commencing a phased reduction of said troop levels, beginning in July of 2011. I appreciated greatly the President's candor in not promising Victory, as that goal is surely illusory and unachievable.

Nonetheless, the President's four square adoption of the Soviet Union's late 1980s Afghanistan strategy is indeed distressing. Creating safe haven urban centers, while training the National army and National police force as a viable foundation to transition from foreign invader/occupier to friendly ally surely worked out well for them didn't it.

Keep in mind that the Administration's commitment of more than 100,000 combat forces is needed to counter the threat to our homeland by the estimated 100 (plus/minus) al Qaeda terrorists hiding out in unheated, but furnished, caves along the border with Pakistan. Now, most Elite Members will read that nonsensically small number of enemy combatants and say to other listeners: "there he goes again more ridiculous hyperbole." NOT SO - That number was given to the world press as background information for the President's West Point address by his National Security Advisor, General James Jones. Sounds to me, however, that a hundred or so terrorists could be terminated with extreme prejudice by our predator drones. Just saying...