Jamie Weinstein

One could come up with many criticisms of President Obama’s speech last night at West Point announcing his Afghanistan strategy.

Why if he was willing to commit 30,000 troops would he not go all the way and commit the 40,000 troops General McChrystal was asking for?

When he's right . . .

Why would the president give a deadline to remove the troops in a speech that needed to show resolve about defeating al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan? And, in giving a deadline, why would he give one that approaches so quickly? As John McCain said in a press release after Obama’s speech, “Success is the real exit strategy.”

What was with the economic part of the speech? A president who wants to spend a trillion dollars on healthcare and signed a pork-laden $787 billion stimulus bill is suddenly worried about the cost of a policy that directly relates to the government’s first obligation, which is to protect its citizens?

It certainly wasn’t one of the more rhetorically brilliant or passionate speeches the president has ever given.

Yes, there are plenty of criticisms that could be made of President Obama’s speech. And there are some questions that still must be answered by the president. But what matters most is that the president has declared definitively by resourcing the mission that America is shooting for success in Afghanistan.

This is tremendously important and heartening, and all Americans should stand behind the president in this important mission. What happens in Afghanistan is directly related to American security. The president apparently recognizes this. And he is now acting to prevent Afghanistan from falling into the hands of the Taliban, which would once again provide al-Qaeda a safe haven to plan and plot against the United States like they did before 9/11.  Perhaps even worse, a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan could be used to destabilize a nuclear-armed Pakistan.

The president’s decision will almost certainly alienate a large portion of his base and therefore the decision he made is most certainly politically risky for him. It is, however, the right move in defense of the safety and security of the United States. Conservatives in the opposition cannot always act as obstructionists.  So far, much of the president’s foreign policy has merited criticism. But when the president is right, conservatives need to stand behind him. In this case, while President Obama is skewered by many on the left, conservatives must vocally stand with the president on a courageous move in support of one of the most vital missions in the War on Terror.

In that vein, conservatives must also criticize poor behavior in their ranks. While former Vice President Dick Cheney has made many important and accurate statements since leaving office, his interview that was published in the Politico yesterday right before the president’s speech was in poor taste. While he may have been correct on much substance, it was uncalled for to call the president “weak” right before he was preparing to make a major policy declaration on Afghanistan. It just wasn’t the right time for such criticism. At the very least, the former vice president could have waited until hearing President Obama’s plan.

So it may have taken too long, but in the end, the president made the right call, or at least close to the right call. Conservatives must now stand with the president in supporting this important mission, even if they provide constructive criticism from time to time on elements of Obama’s plan with which they have disagreements.

As for now, good job, Mr. President. And God bless the United States Military, the greatest and most courageous fighting force the world has ever seen.