It was January of 2007. The war in Iraq was going badly. Very badly.

U.S. General David Petraeus advocated an audacious counterinsurgency strategy. It would involve a massive troop surge. Senator Barack Obama disagreed, calling for a “surge in diplomacy.”(1)

Few thought the Iraq surge would work. The vaunted Iraq Study group dismissed the suggestion as inane.(2) A Republican Senator called the idea “Alice in Wonderland.”(3) Senator Obama voted against the surge, predicting failure.

Fast-forward to 2008. The violence in Iraq had plummeted. Sectarian killings had gone down by 50 percent nationwide and by more than 80 percent in Baghdad.(4) Even then candidate-Obama admitted that “the surge” had “succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated.”(5)

True. No one had anticipated the success of the surge -- unless you count McCain, Bush, Lieberman, Petraeus…

Obama never admitted he was wrong. His actions, however, spoke louder than any words. In May 2009, Obama fired the U.S. general in Afghanistan, promoting General McChrystal – a proponent of Petraeus’ counterinsurgency philosophy -- to the top generalship.

Through this decision, the president showed that he wanted innovative, independent-minded generals.

Fast forward to today. The war in Afghanistan is not going well. In fact, it’s perilous. The Taliban has, by some accounts, has taken over half of Afghanistan, and is now menacing the government of Pakistan. Over 60 American lives were lost in October alone.

So what should we do?

Petraeus and McChrystal – the same generals who implemented the Iraq surge – are advocating for a surge of 40,000 U.S. troops. Without these additional troops, the generals warn, we will lose the war…

Enter: Joe Biden. 44th Vice President of the United States -- and self-appointed High Priest of Military Knowledge.

The Vice President believes that the generals are wrong. In Biden’s eyes, Al Qaeda and the Taliban are two perfectly distinct groups: Al Qaeda is the foreign entity intent on world domination, while the Taliban is a homegrown operation that doesn’t threaten the U.S. Biden argues that we cannot remove or defeat a homegrown group, and therefore, should contain the Taliban with our current troops.

We’ll finish off Al Qaeda with drones…

If only it were that simple.

Biden’s tidy, black and white, view of Afghanistan is appealing. If we acted upon his view, we would add only 10,000-15,000 troops to Afghanistan. The U.S. would soon withdraw from Afghanistan, saving trillions of dollars, and many American lives.

Enter: reality.

In truth, Al Qaeda and the Taliban are more combined than ever before. Anthony H Cordesman, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, states that, “The kind of separation that existed between the Taliban and Al Qaeda in 2001 really doesn’t exist anymore.” The war has actually pushed the two groups together.

Who cares, you say. Afghanistan’s internal issues are not our problem.

Oh, but they are.

Without a U.S. troop surge, the Taliban will continue to build strength. They will dominate more and more of Afghanistan -- and Pakistan (nukes and all). Al Qaeda will then have a massive umbrella under which to receive funding and train.

We’ll be back at square one. At September 10, 2001…

Unfortunately, the President seems to be falling for Biden’s simplistic worldview. Obama no longer refers to the Taliban as the enemy. He now states that the Taliban should be featured in future Afghan governments (I’m sure they’d be content to simply share the government with other groups…).

I really don’t blame the president for wanting to disregard his generals’ advice. Their method is hard. It requires money, commitment, and sacrifice.

Biden’s view is much more soothing. And short sighted…

"We must never forget. This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which Al Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people.”(7)

I hope that our President listens his own words.

(1) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/14/ftn/main2359098.shtml
(2) http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0108/p01s02-usfp.html
(3) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6223923.stm
(4) http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/10/iraq.petraeus/index.html
(5) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSPSq3q1shRI&refer=home
(6) www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/world/asia/08prexy.html
(7) President Obama; Speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars; August 17, 2009. www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/world/asia/08prexy.html