Nov 25 2008
Obama Keeping Gates
So Obama “might” keep Gates as Secretary of Defense. Good. I know some people think this is a bad thing. Let me rebuff their main arguments 1 by 1:
1) This makes it look like Obama is acknowledging that Democrats can’t run the Pentagon. Well, perhaps Democrats can’t run the Pentagon. After all, recently they have been the “peace” and “anti-war” party, and in fact won this election largely based on their opposition to the Iraq War.
2) If Obama wants the war to end, why appoint somebody who has run it for the last two years? Because the man who has run it for the last two years knows the war inside and out. Moreover, even people who disapprove of the war have to admit that the last two years were among the best of the war. The troops cannot just be picked up and dropped back off stateside with the condition Iraq is in right now. We need to continue to run the war well to reach a point where we can realistically bring our troops home. We also need to keep the troops who are still on the ground safe, and having someone who is a) not familiar with running the military, and b) not familiar with the war will not accomplish this.
3) Obama ran on a platform of change. How is keeping Bush’s cabinet members change? Obama ran on a policy not of change from the last four years, or change of specific policies, but of systemic change in how the government does business. This is a great example of that. This will be the first Secretary of Defense kept from a previous President of the opposing Party. Also, change or no change, Obama is young and inexperienced. The only hope he has of being able to run this country well, or fulfill a single one of his campaign promises, is to appoint people with more expertise and experience than he has. This is smart. Finally, let’s talk about change for a moment. Appointing people who have already served in high level posts under other Democratic Presidents is not change. Appointing your law school and Chicago politician buddies is not change. Appointing two of your former rivals for the Democratic nomination is not change. It’s the same old political pandering we’ve seen over and over again. Appointing the best person to do the job, regardless of their political affiliation, is something we don’t see a lot of.
In my opinion, this is a very smart move by Obama.
I certainly hope he does!
“The troops cannot just be picked up and dropped back off stateside with the condition Iraq is in right now. We need to continue to run the war well to reach a point where we can realistically bring our troops home. We also need to keep the troops who are still on the ground safe”
I agree with that statement completely and as the sister of a Marine the most important thing to me is the safety of my brother and our troops!
Jessi,
Thanks for visiting and commenting. I totally agree. while I think our men and women in uniform signed up knowing they could be risking their lives, that doesn’t relieve the President/military heads of their duty to do everything possible to minimize that risk.
By pulling troops out without a well thought out, well executed plan, just to meet a deadline set during a political campaign, Obama could put those units that are the last to leave in a lot of danger. Hopefully his choice for Sec of Defense will show that he doesn’t plan to do that. I hope your brother, and everyone else serving over there gets home safe.
And know that people really do appreciate the sacrifices that not ony your brother, but your whole family, has made for us.
I agree, a great move by Obama. Any doubts american’s had about his experience he’s negated by surrounding himself with very qualified people. This was another move like that.
I have complete confidence in Obama that he knows and has the right people around him who can take care of business. The troops will be gradually coming home and I also have confidence in the fact that we will capture Bin Laden which should have been done 8 years ago. Great post. I’m adding you to my blogroll.
http://apoetsview.today.com
http://insanfrancisco.today.com
Thank you guys for coming by and commenting, and for the link Jodapoet. I really have my doubts about Obama. Not so much about his ability to be an alright president, but about his ability to a) handle foreign policy, and b) live up to the promises he made.
I also have my doubts about the people he’s surrounding himself with. Former opponents, Clinton era folks, and sleezy Chicago politicians. Oh my. Change we can believe in, but may never see.
On the other hand, I tend to agree that with Gates as Sec of Defense, we will very likely see Al Qaeda stopped, and the War in Iraq ended with minimal needless casualties.