Obama's Feelings Trump Troop Level Needs

How is it that the American people elected such a dizzying nincompoop to the office of president at the same time we were engaged in two wars? Oh sure, we were also involved in a tremendous downturn in the economy for which we needed a steadying hand. Thankfully Obama claims he has defeated that little problem, this during the same month when another 450,000 people joined the unemployment lines.

Jules Crittenden gets the thanks for alerting me toward this report on an astonishing conversation that took place at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan between Obama's National Security Adviser James L. Jones and commanders in the field.

From Bob Woodward at the Washington Post:

During the briefing, Nicholson had told Jones that he was "a little light," more than hinting that he could use more forces, probably thousands more. "We don't have enough force to go everywhere," Nicholson said.

But Jones recalled how Obama had initially decided to deploy additional forces this year. "At a table much like this," Jones said, referring to the polished wood table in the White House Situation Room, "the president's principals met and agreed to recommend 17,000 more troops for Afghanistan." The principals -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Gates; Mullen; and the director of national intelligence, Dennis C. Blair -- made this recommendation in February during the first full month of the Obama administration. The president approved the deployments, which included Nicholson's Marines.

Soon after that, Jones said, the principals told the president, "oops," we need an additional 4,000 to help train the Afghan army.

"They then said, 'If you do all that, we think we can turn this around,' " Jones said, reminding the Marines here that the president had quickly approved and publicly announced the additional 4,000.

Now suppose you’re the president, Jones told them, and the requests come into the White House for yet more force. How do you think Obama might look at this? Jones asked, casting his eyes around the colonels. How do you think he might feel?

Jones let the question hang in the air-conditioned, fluorescent-lighted room. Nicholson and the colonels said nothing.

Here we have the National Security Adviser suggesting that officers in a dynamic field of war consider the feelings of Barack Obama before they mention their troop level needs.

Well, Jones went on, after all those additional troops, 17,000 plus 4,000 more, if there were new requests for force now, the president would quite likely have "a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment." Everyone in the room caught the phonetic reference to WTF -- which in the military and elsewhere means "What the [expletive]?"

You name an organization anywhere where the people who cannot communicate their needs openly with their bosses and I can point out to you an inefficient and ineffective operation.

Heaven help our armed forces and the people who they have been charged to protect. The good Lord knows we don't want our president's feelings disturbed. Priorities and all that.