When Wikileaks released over 92,000 classified documents this week, it became clear after defense and intelligence officials scoured over the documents, that nothing new was learned that already hadn’t been known before. We already knew of unreliable partner with many Afghan and Pakistani officials, plus elements of Pakistan’s intelligence agency had been aiding the Taliban.
This hardly resembles the “Pentagon Papers” which were top secret studies by the Department of Defense, charting the history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The document was turned over to the New York Times which highlighted the manner in which the U.S. became involved in Vietnam.
With the disclosure of the documents by Wikileaks, it highlights the debate between those who believe we should continue our involvement in Afghanistan and those who believe the U.S. should end involvement in Afghanistan as a war we can’t win.
This places the Obama Administration in a precarious situation, as his administration is split among top level senior advisors on his strategy of sending more troops to the embattled country. Last month, Gen. McChrystal was fired for his candor in speaking out against the rift he felt with the administrations senior foreign policy team.
The president has to make a decision; is he going to see the surge through, or is he going to make a half hearted attempt? The president rarely has made any statements regarding Afghanistan since he sent additional forces into Afghanistan back in December. The time is now for the president to make his case to the American people while we are needed in Afghanistan. Failure here is not an option!
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