Before his inauguration, Mr. Obama made it very clear he did not want a Cabinet of “Yes-Men/Women.” He wanted a room of Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, all with clashing and varying degrees of ideas, but one very universal goal — to reach the best conclusion possible in the best interest of the country. Well, it seems President Obama got his wish.
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On Wednesday, the President held a closed-door session in the White House Situation Room with his national security team, in what was reported to have been a very heated and emotion filled room. The topic was a high stakes review of the U.S. Afghanistan strategy and how Mr. Obama should handle our continuing war presence there. But opinions were all over the place, causing a “butting of heads” among an administration of comrades. Vice-President Joe Biden is said to be pushing for a complete strategic shift: to do less nation-building so as to focus more on special forces in the region to fight al Qaeda. But new military chief Gen. Stanley McChrystal wants his forces increased up to 40,000 troops. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Afghanistan envoy, Richard Holbrooke, appear to be more hawkish than Biden, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates is going “middle of the road” in supporting his General but saying “the administration isn’t ready to commit more troops yet.”
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Still, no matter how much these warring factions duke it out over Afghan policy, there is still only ONE vote in that room that matters— that of the Commander-In-Chief. President Obama is reportedly mulling over all options presented to him and is expected to make a decision within the coming days.
