After Leak, Obama Ponders Afghanistan Shift

U.S. President Barack Obama is considering a “shift in strategy” for the war in Afghanistan after a leaked military assessment wrestled Washington’s attention from the debate over socialized medicine to a debate over U.S. military policy.

The only problem? Obama’s proposed shift is not the one his generals are recommending.

Either way, the war Democrats were so keen on prosecuting during the 2008 election cycle (in stark contrast to their views on the Iraq war) is back in the news, dominating D.C. headlines and bringing a familiar face back into the limelight.

“It’s clear we need additional troops,”  U.S. Sen. John McCain said on the CBS Early Show Wednesday morning.  “And the longer we wait and delay, the more Americans will be put at risk unnecessarily.”

The debate started this week when a military assessment prepared by U.S. General Stanley McChrystal was leaked to journalist Bob Woodward.  McChrystal’s memo requested that 30,000-40,000 additional U.S. troops be sent to Afghanistan – which would dramatically increase the current American troop commitment there from its current level of 70,000.

It also contained an ominous warning in the event such a commitment wasn’t made.

“Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) – while Afghan security capacity matures – risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible,” Gen. McChrystal wrote in his now-infamous memo.

Obama – who was following his generals advice back in March – now seems to be moving in another direction.

Under a plan pushed by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, America would shift its mission from fighting the Taliban with additional troops to targeting al Queda with isolated special forces actions and Predator drone attacks.

America’s involvement in Afghanistan began in October 2001.