Rove Warns Prez: Don't Leave Afghanistan to Biden

President Obama's hands-off approach to Afghanistan may suit his governing style but it's no way to win a war, writes Karl Rove. The president has only spoken with his top commander in Afghanistan once since June, notes Rove. This apparent indifference to conditions on the ground contrasts sharply with his predecessor's approach, Rove writes, and makes him more likely to listen to Joe Biden's recommendation that troops should be reduced in favor of striking al-Qaeda from offshore.

Biden has a "record rare in its consistency and duration of being wrong about big national security questions" and his approach would almost certainly lose the war, Rove argues in the Wall Street Journal. He cites the vice-president's support for "cutting and running" from Vietnam in 1972 and his opposition to Reagan-era policies. "Winning a shooting war requires a commander-in-chief's constant, direct and deep involvement," Rove writes, and Obama should get over to Afghanistan in person and start listening to his commanders.
(More Karl Rove stories.)