Obama, penny wise but strategically foolish on Afghanistan

The Obama White House’s drift on Afghanistan, sadly, shows no sign of coming to an end. A report in the New York Times today suggests that the administration is now worried about the cost of sending more troops. The paper says that Obama is insisting that every option contains a quick exit strategy as part of an effort to keep costs down. When you consider the likely cost of many of Obama’s domestic priorities, especially health-care, it seems remarkable that he is so concerned about the costs of the Afghan mission.

At some point soon, Obama will have to come to a decision on Afghanistan. He has already placed his allies in a near-impossible situation and one has to imagine that the clearer Obama makes his discomfort with all the possible options, the more he encourages those who think they can wait the coalition out in Afghanistan.