Obama gets no backup, headed for colossal mistake

Dan Froomkin again writes what I've been thinking, but have not been good enough at articulating. He dissects the debate in Washington over Afghanistan (sure escalation, if only for politicking's sake) vs. the national reality (more want to get the fuck out).

As it happens, in this case political reality actually diverges quite markedly from public opinion. The public overwhelmingly opposes the war -- 57 percent to 39 percent, according to the latest Associated Press poll. And disengagement from Afghanistan -- even though it's not even being discussed as a serious option in political circles -- is considerably more popular with the American public than escalation, which is almost all anyone in Washington can talk about. The latest CNN poll found that 49 percent of Americans favored reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan -- with 28 percent saying they should all be withdrawn immediately -- compared to less than 40 percent who want to send more.

Generalized public sentiment alone, however, is unlikely to force any American president to consider a military withdrawal without victory. "It is always easier in the short term to stay in than to get out," says Walt. "And therefore the temptation to take one more drink is always there."

What it would take is a great deal of organized political pressure. But there is no significant peace movement pushing for withdrawal. There is, in fact, almost no political manifestation whatsoever of what is the majority view. The political pressure is all coming from one side.

But no pushback. And that's on us. We are a country and a culture in a daze. We have too much shit to care about to adequately assess a faceless war half a world away. I'm not blaming anyone. I mean it. The economy, health care, swine flu, everything else the media tells us to worry about, crime, just living life, it all gets in the way. Our culture has fractured off into subgroups, fostered by the Internet's vast playgrounds and possibilities. Engaging in a war debate (unless you're a military family) is the furthest from the every day mindset.

The most fascinating thing to ponder is if Obama announced a re-institution of the draft in an effort to ramp up the war. I know that's completely unrealistic, but I really wonder how we would react. Would people start to change their attitude, draft-eligible or not?

Again, we are a country and a culture in an multifaceted daze and I don't know what to do about it.