I attended the FPI conference on Afghanistan, and share Pete’s assessment: an excellent meeting. I vividly recall how helpful it was back in early 2007 when a group of liberals organized a similar conference to support President Bush in the early days of the surge in Iraq . . .
What, you don’t remember that conference? Neither do I.
It is worth reflecting on the fact that, just days after President Obama announced a surge of his own in Afghanistan, conservatives held a high-powered meeting to discuss how we can support his efforts. It says a great deal about the organizers and all those who attended that they are willing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the president when he does the right thing in the War on Terror.
I suspect he will need that support in the period ahead. As the battle in Afghanistan gets tough, voices on the Left will increasingly call it a quagmire and agitate for withdrawal. For many, Afghanistan served a purpose in 2008 when they could use it argue that Bush distracted us from the “real war” with his blunder into Iraq. Now that Bush is gone that argument is no longer needed — and Afghanistan has outlived its usefulness. We’ll soon see how much enthusiasm there is on the left for victory.