Obama Says U.S. Has Fallen ‘Short of the Ideal’ in Afghanistan

Via the Weekly Standard:

In remarks with Afghan president Hamid Karzai at the White House this afternoon, President Barack Obama said the U.S. has fallen “short of the ideal” in Afghanistan:

“So, you know, I think that, have we achieved everything that some might have imagined us achieving in the best of scenarios? Probably not. You know, there’s a human enterprise, and you know, you fall short of the ideal,” said Obama.

Note the use of the royal “we”. When things go bad, it’s a collective, “we” – The United States – all of us, and “you” fell short the ideal-  not “I” as when Obama gave the gutsy call to kill Osama Bin Laden. Oh no….things aren’t “optimal” and it’s only going to get worse so it’s  “we”.

But it was Obama himself who sealed Afghanistan’s fate when he announced to the enemy our peace partners a withdrawal date from the beginning of the surge in late 2009, ensuring that the over 2,000 US combat deaths would be for naught.

As Charles Krauthammer opined in October 2010:

On Dec. 1, 2009, commander-in-chief Barack Obama orders 30,000 more Americans into battle in Afghanistan. But in the very next sentence, he announces that an American withdrawal will begin after 18 months.

Astonishing. A surge of troops — overall, Obama has tripled our Afghan force — with a declaration not of war, but of ambivalence. Nine months later, Marine Corps Commandant James Conway admitted that this decision was “probably giving our enemy sustenance.” This wasn’t conjecture, he insisted, but the stuff of intercepted Taliban communications testifying to their relief that they simply had to wait out the Americans.

What kind of commander in chief sends tens of thousands of troops to war while announcing in advance a fixed date for beginning their withdrawal? One who doesn’t have his heart in it. One who doesn’t really want to win but is making some kind of political gesture. One who thinks he has to be seen as trying but is preparing the ground — meaning, the political cover — for failure.

The Taliban is celebrating our withdrawal and preparing Jihad Against US and ‘Crusader-Zionist Alliance’:

MEMRI reported on this Taliban tape, via Atlas:

“The shari’a system for which Allah has ordered us, we are waging the struggle for the same shari’a, and the same shari’a teaches us to keep holding the rope of Allah; and the Prophet [Muhammad] also teaches that we keep the organization [i.e. Islam] united and follow it essentially. And one who left the organization [i.e. Islam], he separate for the fire…. Praise be to Allah that by consensus we put our trust on the respected emir [Hakimullah Mehsud] and we have trusted him as the head of the movement [i.e. TTP].”

Waliur Rehman: “Whether It Be Against Pakistan Or Against Afghanistan, We Consider Both As The War Against America And Are Fighting Against The Crusader-Zionist Alliance”

Yep. “We” sure fell short of the ideal.

UPDATE:

The Corner: Krauthammer: Today Obama Acknowledged His Surge Failed

UPDATE II:

Michelle Malkin: No joke: Obama and Karzai agree to allow the Taliban to open an office in Qatar:

What could go wrong?

From a statement on the White House website:

The Leaders [Obama and Karzai] said that they would support an office in Doha for the purpose of negotiations between the High Peace Council and the authorized representatives of the Taliban. In this context, the Leaders called on the armed opposition to join a political process, including by taking those steps necessary to open a Taliban office. They urged the Government of Qatar to facilitate this effort. The two Presidents reiterated that the outcomes of peace and reconciliation must respect the historic achievements that Afghanistan has made over the past decade, including protecting the rights that all citizens of Afghanistan, both men and women, guaranteed under the constitution. As a part of the outcome of any process, the Taliban and other armed opposition groups must end violence, break ties with Al Qaeda, and accept Afghanistan’s constitution.