Gloomy Expectations for 2010

In only a couple of days, the politically bruising 2009 will come to a close and we will begin another year. After being severely disappointed by our freshman president in the current year, we must now assess the year that lays ahead. Unfortunately, 2010 has already been doomed by terrible foreign policy due in large part to President Obama's erroneous choice to escalate the war in Afghanistan.

The rise in troops in Afghanistan will surely bring more war casualties. Not only for our troops, but also for Afghanistan's already vulnerable civilian population. Considering that the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan jumped by ten percent during the first ten months of 2009, this is extremely frightening (a total to 2,038 during that period according to the U.N.). It is in this context that President Obama will have to ask Congress for close to $100 billion to carry out operations in Afghanistan. Getting these funds is sure to be a political struggle as President Obama will have to lobby congress himself for the funds, as Democratic speaker Pelosi refuses to do it.

Given the many political entanglements President Obama has found himself caught himself up in (i.e. the heath care fiasco, the economy), the lack of "success" in Afghanistan will not bode well for neither his presidency nor for the Democratic party. He simply does not have the political capital to afford anything but "success" in Afghanistan. Sadly, in Afghanistan, a military victory is wishful thinking.