Reading Bob Woodward’s Obama’s Wars is giving me a headache. The problem is not Woodward’s writing and reporting, which are first class as usual, but rather the story of Obama’s fall 2009 strategy review itself. His account shows a president who is deeply skeptical of military solutions. “I want an exit strategy,” the president insisted to his advisers. “Everything that we’re doing has to be focused on how … we can reduce our military footprint.” Also expressing skepticism about the war were Vice President Joe Biden; Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke; the White House ‘war czar’ and senior adviser for Afghanistan, General Douglas Lute; and U.S. ambassador and former commanding general in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry.
Yet Obama decided to send 30,000 additional troops. Having relied primarily on military advice, the president received only military options. The thrust of the discussion was not whether to send troops but how many and how fast. A sad reflection on the power of the Pentagon to shape presidential decision making and the way in which war imperatives can trump rational decision making.
I’m completing a new book, Ending Obama’s War, which outlines a plan for responsible military disengagement. Look for it early next year from Paradigm Publishers.
David Cortright 
Thankyou Gordon for a very hondst & moving article. I am indeed very proud of the professional way our armed forces continue to stand against the daily threats facing them from the ‘invisible army’. My heart goes out to the families of those young men whose faces we have seen more often recently on our tv screens, whose lives have been torn away from them. I believe that true peace is certainly found in belief in Jesus Christ. But with the uncertainty of future peace in Afganistan & the daily dangers facing our troops, I question from the teaching of Jesus, whether we should seek other ways of settling this war of terror rather than trying to fight it? Let us keep praying for peace & an end to this tragic loss of life, & not to forget those who will face a lifetime of disability & those who will care for them.