Published: October 30 2009 19:50 | Last updated: October 30 2009 19:50
Seven
years ago, Dick Cheney proclaimed: “The Taliban is out of business,
permanently.” Last week, the former vice-president came close to
accusing Barack Obama of lacking the guts to “do what it takes” to win
the war against the very same Taliban.
Some time in the next two
weeks, Mr Obama is likely to bring months of agonised deliberation to a
close when he decides how many more troops to send to Afghanistan. The
number, which could be as high as the 40,000 recommended by Stanley
McChrystal, the general in charge, will be analysed minutely for what
it can achieve on the ground in Afghanistan.
But as Mr Cheney’s
contrasting observations illustrate, the more influential war is being
fought politically on the ground in America. Somehow, the compulsions
of US politics have brought the candidate who electrified America by
promising to pull out of Iraq to a position where many of his most
ardent backers fear he may be about to get America into another Vietnam. MORE>>>>>