Throwing McChrystal -- and Afghanistan -- Under the Bus

From Erick Erickson, "Hiding Behind Synonyms: Obama Begins Campaign to Throw Gen. McChrystal Under the Bus." Note this quote from Erickson: "... we find ourselves staring in the face of military defeat in Afghanistan, which will lead to a cascading series of events up to and including a collapsed Pakistan followed by an Islamofascist war against India run out of Islamabad."

Read the whole thing.

Interestingly, take a look at this headline on the war: "Al Qaeda's Diminished Role Stirs Afghan Debate: Hunted by U.S. Drones, Beset by Money Problems and Finding it Tougher to Lure Young Arabs to the Bleak Mountains of Pakistan, Al Qaeda is Seeing its Role Shrink There and in Afghanistan."

The full report is at the Wall Street Journal (link). But note this:

In the political debate, al Qaeda's diminished role has bolstered the argument of those advocating a narrower campaign. They say continuing the drone campaign is sufficient to keep al Qaeda at bay, said Bruce Hoffman, a Georgetown University professor who has written extensively on al Qaeda. Mr. Hoffman believes that argument is misguided, however, and that if the U.S. pulls out, al Qaeda will return.

"Al Qaeda may be diminished, but it still poses a threat," he said. The debate will move to Capitol Hill Tuesday when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on confronting al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

And this sidebar quote from the article is perfect:

Al Qaeda has a diminished role? I thought we just lost eight American troops. I guess al Qaeda is diminished as much as the recession.

Administration supporters are pushing a dishonest debate. Recall just last week at the New York Times, "Militant Group Is Intact After Mumbai Siege." And see my report, "Another Mumbai? Qaeda-Taliban-Lashkar Ready to Strike Again."

Leftists will disgregate al Qaeda from the Taliban and local tribal extremists. But the Mumbai attacks showed that the methods of terror had all the markings of an al Qaeda operation, and the home base of operations was the same spot that border attackers launched their missions against U.S. troops over the weekend.

The debate now isn't so much about U.S. success in defeating al Qaeda. It's about precipitous withdrawal.

The Obama administration will lose this war, and blood will be on the Democrats' hands.