President Obama plans to send 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan. USA TODAY says the president's objective "is to suppress the spreading insurgency by placing more emphasis on building local governments, wooing the civilian population with aid and providing more help to the Afghan army instead of deploying a large number of combat troops."
Why is it that every president feels the need to 'play Army' when he comes into office? As kids we 'played' army and blasted other kids with our stick 'guns' often deriding the victims with words like, 'dirty Jap!' or "Nazi!'
It must be some latent and unfulfilled male adolescent urge that raises its ugly head when a man ascends to that position. They 'do it' because they can. From the rather minor display of this adolescent machismo in Ronald Reagan's Grenada adventure to the grand display of Johnson in Vietnam, it continues. Of course, most recently, there was the Oedipally entangled and thoroughly botched 'mission accomplished' fiasco of the ne'er-do-well junior son.
And so, it is Obama's turn to 'play Army.' I thought that he was much too bright to fall into that presidential trap; apparently not. There is naught to gain there as there was naught to gain in Vietnam, Grenada, Iraq, Lebanon or most other geographical locations that American presidents seems to regard as high-value targets.
Grow up, Mr. President, and put your stick-gun down.
