Cherry-picking ... again

Downplaying the inroads made by al Qaeda

Al Qaeda is becoming the weapon of mass destruction (WMD) of the Obama administration's Afghan war. Or, to be more precise, it is a reverse WMD.For the George W. Bush administration, the likely presence of WMD in Iraq was a major justification for going to war. For Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and some senior Obama White House staff (we do not yet know the position of the president), the purported weakness and ineffectiveness of al Qaeda is sufficient justification for ending our major ground troop presence in Afghanistan.Moreover, just as with discussions of WMD in 2002-03, the current discussion of al Qaeda's capacities in Afghanistan is being carried out with cherry-picked intelligence. And, just as Mr. Bush's opponents suspected, he cited WMD merely as an excuse for starting a war he had already made up his mind to start for different reasons; so it would appear that the assertion of al Qaeda weakness by the White House might merely be an excuse to justify the political decision that has already been made (by some) to get out of Afghanistan.In September, the president publicly expressed doubts concerning the wisdom of his own strategy. Then Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's war plans were leaked to The Washington Post's Bob Woodward. The Post then editorialized harshly against the president's indecision and reminded him of his recent words concerning Afghanistan being a necessary war.The White House then informally released the Biden plan, which would draw down ground troops and go after al Qaeda primarily by air. Gen. McChrystal publicly repudiated the efficacy of the Biden plan and, while on CBS' "60 Minutes," mentioned that he had talked with the president only once since taking command - and then by phone.Then, on Sept. 30, The Post ran a spectacular front-page, above-the-fold lead story headlined "Success Against al-Qaeda Cited: Infiltration of Network Is a Factor as Administration Debates Afghanistan Policy." This article, leaked to The Post by "senior U.S. officials, who spoke about intelligence matters on the condition of anonymity," expressly argued that al Qaeda had been penetrated recently by our spies and other intelligence, can be hit by drones, and therefore "such improved counterterrorism effort" is "evidence that Obama's principal objective - destroying al Qaeda - can be achieved without an expanded troop presence."..MORE..http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/06/cherry-picking-again/#

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