Two former Bush Administration officials are calling on Republicans to resist the political urge and growing historical tendency to refuse to support wars when the opposing party is in control of the executive branch.
Dan Senor and Peter Wehner took to the Wall Street Journal Op-ed page to challenge the reasoning of conservatives like George Will, who are trying to hang the increasingly unpopular war around the President's neck and call for a withdrawal.
They write:
The president deserves credit for his commitment earlier this year
to order an additional 17,000 troops for Afghanistan, as well as his
decision to act on the recommendation of Gen. David Petraeus and
Defense Secretary Robert Gates to replace the U.S. commander in
Afghanistan with Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
These were tough and courageous
decisions. The president's actions have clearly unsettled some members
of his own party, who hoped he would begin to unwind America's
commitment in Afghanistan. Mr. Obama not only ignored their counsel; he
doubled down his commitment. There should therefore be no stronger
advocates for Mr. Obama's Afghanistan strategy than the GOP.