I’d really like to see European nations contributing more to the war in Afghanistan.

And if a side-effect of their additional military contributions is a bit of fiscal relief to the American taxpayer, that’s great. Not the primary goal in calling for NATO to send ground troops with more flexible rules of engagement, obviously, but a pleasant side benefit.

But if I wanted to get the Europeans on board for a mission that will inevitably involve casualties, I would probably avoid talking up tax relief as one of the benefits of their involvement.

“If we have more NATO troops in Afghanistan, then that’s potentially fewer American troops over the long term, which means we’re spending fewer billions of dollars, which means we can invest those billions of dollars in making sure we’re providing tax cuts to middle class families who are struggling with higher gas prices that will have an impact on our economy.”

And I’d be really careful about making that argument while on their soil, as Obama said this to CNN’s Candy Crowley in Berlin.

Hat tip, RedState.