Barack Obama is understandably busy with many things these days. Tackling health care reform, prepping for the G20, revamping the military’s missile defense program, containing the Swine Flu are just a few of the problems on his plate. But the Washington Post had a highly disturbing assertion in an editorial written last week. The board wrote, “President Obama delegated management of Iraq to Vice President Biden in June; since then Mr. Obama has appeared to spare it little of his attention.” His decision to given more responsibilities to Biden is a known fact; his subsequent decision to ignore it himself is news. Although the United States is in the process of dwindling down its troop presence in Iraq to 50,000, as of today it still has its largest military commitment in Iraq. It’s inexcusable for the commander-in-chief not to play a hands on role in overseeing his military.
If there were any unambiguous and nonpartisan lessons to take away from the Bush Administration, it is that the President should pay careful attention to what his commanders and military strategists are doing. The very fateful and consequential decision to disband the Iraqi national army, for example, happened while Bush was primarily focused on reelection politics. Bob Woodward reported that Bush wasn’t aware of how or even why the decision was made. On the flip side, Iraq began to stabilize while Bush channeled a large chuck of his energy to decide on and oversee the surge. It doesn’t seem to be a stretch to say that there is a causal relationship between how involved a President is with his military and the success of his military.
Some defenders of Obama might argue that finishing a war is not as important as starting or waging one. That principle, however, flies right in the face of Obama’s frequently used phrase, “We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were getting in.” Others might say VP Biden is more competent than VP Cheney or other top Bush officials were. That’s unconvincing because Biden also voted for the Iraq War and proposed that Iraq be cut up into 3 small states—an idea virtually rejected by all sides in the foreign policy community. And some others would say Obama is markedly smarter than Bush is. Even if that premise is granted, intelligence achieves nothing without energy and commitment.
In George Herring’s comprehensive book on the history of American foreign policy, From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776, he recalls a lighthearted conversation JFK and Richard Nixon had right after the 1960 election. Agreeing with Nixon about the importance of international relations, JFK said that he didn’t care whether the minimum wage was a $1.10 or a $1.25; the action and significance of the Presidency lies in foreign policy. Obama would be wise to take the advice of his political hero.
