I didn’t see anyone predicting that Gen. Petreaus would be taking over for Gen. McChrystal. I think that is because it is a demotion. I noticed early on in the Iraq War that the only places that seemed to be going well were wherever Petreaus happened to be stationed. Whether it was Najaf, the Sunni Triangle, or Mosul, things worked when he was there and fell apart as soon as he left. About the only thing I agreed with Bush about was his decision to promote Petraeus repeatedly. He was clearly our finest commander and I haven’t noticed anyone who rivals him. That’s one reason why MoveOn’s decision to attack him bothered me. The other reason was that it was totally predictable that the Democrats would disavow a direct attack on a commanding general, whether he deserved it or not. The anti-war movement never recovered momentum after that episode, nothing was accomplished, and it sowed division on the left.
But that is bygones, or it should be. Obama made the right decision today, and Petraeus deserves a lot of credit for accepting the responsibility for what looks to be a hopeless mission. Yet, if anyone can make lemonade out of the situation in Afghanistan, it is Petraeus.
That said, I still think we should abandon hope that Hamid Karzai will ever be able to govern the country on his own. And once we face up to that, coming home is an easier decision.
