By Josh Rogin,The Cable
Obama is meddling with the commanders reports in Afghanistan
As the Obama administration wrestles with how to deal with the worsening military and political situation in Afghanistan and the worsening level of public support for the war at home,new details are emerging about how the president is thinking about his decision on whether to send more U.S. troops to the region.
According to Howard "Buck"McKeon,R-CA,the new top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee,Obama told Central Command head Gen. David Petraeus and Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal to "scrub"their assessments because he "wasn’t inclined to send troops over there."
If McKeon’s claim is true,Obama’s instructions,relayed to McKeon through Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates,show how resistant the president is to doubling down on the war in Afghanistan and how Republicans are prepared to take their push for an increased commitment of resources to the public.
In civilian jargon,"scrub"usually means to deep-six something,get rid of it. But after 27 years in the Marine Corps I can tell you the military version of "scrub"is to double-check it,clean it up,make certain it contains only essentials. So,which did Pres. Obama really mean? I'm no fan of our current President,but words have meaning and impact,and as double-minded as this President is,we need to be certain we know what he is requiring.