Michael Goodwin
The New York Post
December 2, 2009
Before he said a word at West Point last night, President Obama must have had a rude awakening. His decision to escalate our forces in Afghanistan could come only after he faced a fact of international life he tried to dodge and even deny.
That fact is American exceptionalism, a concept he never embraced. Asked about it in France last April, he answered: “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.”
It was a long way of saying no, and was an astonishing answer for a president of the United States. Yet, there he was last night, adding another 30,000 troops to the war effort, while our allies do little or nothing even though they, too, are at risk of additional attacks.
The speech and the decision were a testament to the president’s realization that America, and America only, can be counted on to lead the fight against terrorism. No doubt his head is still spinning to find himself leading the charge.
The man who repeatedly apologized for his country’s history and bowed to foreign royals is now alone in commanding the war on terror, even if he won’t call it that.
The numbers tell the tale…
…Equally telling, many of our allies don’t engage in combat operations. Their soldiers are trainers, security officers — dangerous jobs for sure, but essentially support for the American war machine…
The article continues here.
