NOW THAT ONE'S NOT HIS WAR EITHER?:

Groundwork Is Laid for New Troops in Afghanistan (PETER BAKER and DEXTER FILKINS, 9/01/09, NY Times)

For Mr. Obama, who already ordered an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan this year, the prospect of a still larger deployment would test his commitment to a war he did not launch even as it grows more violent by the month.

He already faces growing discontent among his liberal base, not only over the war but also over national security policy, health care, gay rights and other issues.

Mr. Obama could legitimately disavow our victory in Iraq, since he opposed removing Saddam, but he's always claimed that Afghanistan was the good war. Sure, he had it exactly backwards, but it's a tad late to switch isn't it? And how would he withdraw without first being able to display Osama bin Laden's corpse, having made such a big deal about that in the campaign?

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 1, 2009 8:34 AM