Afghanistan–Strategy Gone Wild
James Carafano /
The White House turned strategy-making on its head. What they are doing will fail and fail in spectacular style.
Here is how strategy making is supposed to work. The president makes the hardest decisions up front. He defines the mission…the goals and makes a commitment on the resources that will be dedicated to reach the goals.
Witness FDR on the eve of World War II or Ike during the Cold War, each started by leading…they knew the goal, non-negotiable surrender for WW II, containment for the Cold War, before they started. They also knew how much national treasure they’d commit, everything for FDR, 50 percent of the federal budget for Ike. They also had confidence in their leadership. They led the American people, that’s what war leaders do, they didn’t let the polls lead them.
Then they set the strategists to working drafting the strategies to win. We have plenty of evidence Obama has turned this process on its head. (more…)