re: #416 cliffster

Gates is a civilian adviser. He’s the Secretary of Defense. That’s a civilian role. So are his under secretaries. Generals and their staffs are military. The JCS would be military advisers as well.

Other civilian advisers could include the other members of the national security team - DCIA, National Security Adviser, etc.

The problem I have is that Obama had the various plans laid out before him for several months. It’s the same options that have been on the table for that time; he had to make the decision.

He also had to balance the military and strategic interests involved with the political realities - which include the Democrats’ reluctance to support an enlarged mission in Afghanistan, even as it’s the justified war. It’s just no longer the necessary war that they were claiming when arguing against the surge in Iraq (as in squandering resources for the necessary war in Afghanistan).

Democrats in Congress are not the constituency that Obama’s relying upon here - it’s the GOP. The Democrats in Congress would rather see a cut and run or some variation of same.

The dithering and inaction on this matter results from trying to get the politics to match a military/tactical/strategic plan.

And all the while, the enemies of the US continue with their barbarism.