Word: afghanistans
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...taken President Obama three months to reach the decision on Afghanistan that he'll share with the nation on Tuesday night, because there are no easy solutions. His chosen path will win applause from some quarters but boos from others. Here's a scorecard outlining the key questions the speech will address, to determine what proposals Obama has embraced and the risks he's willing to accept - and who's likely to be pleased or ticked off as a result...
...taking office, Obama has consciously avoided the sweeping, Wilsonian rhetoric that became the hallmark of George W. Bush's foreign policy after Sept. 11. Unlike Bush, Obama almost never talks about the goals of securing freedom for Afghans or building democratic institutions or liberating women. When it comes to Afghanistan, the liberal President has abandoned the language of liberalism...
...Downplaying the moral component of the American project in Afghanistan may be smart if Obama's goal is to show he's not Bush. But it won't ultimately help win more support for his strategy - and it will ensure that his speech scores with pundits but not with the American people. The most memorable and effective wartime presidential speeches have blended hardheaded statements of resolve with appeals to higher purpose. At Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln vowed that the Union would complete "the great task remaining before us" yet made it clear that the goal was not just to defeat...
...Afghanistan is not nearly as vital to America's global interests as World War II was - and the Taliban's tyranny pales in comparison to that of the Third Reich. But while it's too simplistic to focus solely on the moral imperatives of the Afghan campaign, it would be just as shortsighted for Obama to ignore them altogether. History shows that Americans are far more willing to support a war that they believe is worthy of their ideals. If Obama hopes to rally the American people behind his strategy, his speech needs to convince them that...
...what happens when Thanksgiving comes to Afghanistan...