What message is President Obama sending to the troops –

4 data points

1. Gen. McChrystal submitted a request for troops in July. That request has been back-burnered ever since.
2. Last week President Obama went to Dover AFB to pay respects to fallen troops as they were returned home. This was his first such visit and he was accompanied by Atty. Gen. Eric Holder who was paying respects to DEA agents killed in Afghanistan who were being returned home at the same time.
3. Immediately after the Ft. Hood shooting Obama held a press conference in which he spent the first 1/3 discussing a Native American conference and giving a “shout out” to one of the participants in an inappropriately cheeerful manner.
4. Today it is reported that he will be sending an additional 34,000 troops to Afghanistan – splitting the difference between the medium and high risk options offered by Gen. McChrystal but nowhere near the troops required for the low risk option.

From my point of view the message he is sending is “I couldn’t care less about you. You are good props and that’s it.”

It is sad that in the middle of a war that President Obama himself declared a war that must be won he can’t muster the will or the interest to win it.