California Conservative

VP Joe Biden waded into the fight between Dick Cheney and the Obama administration by essentially saying that the Obama administration will take its time while the violence in Afghanistan continues.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. waved off recent attacks from Dick Cheney about President Obama’s handling of Afghanistan with a “Who cares?” and called his predecessor “absolutely wrong” on the question of whether the new administration was “dithering” in setting a fresh course for the war.

“I think that is absolutely wrong,” the vice president said of Mr. Cheney’s criticism. “I think what the administration is doing is exactly what we said it would do. And what I think it warrants doing. And that is making an informed judgment based upon circumstances that have changed…to come up with a sustainable policy that has more than one dimension.”

Mr. Biden’s staunch defense of the Obama administration came during a 30-minute, wide-ranging interview with The Washington Times and two other news outlets Friday in the ambassador’s residence here. During the interview, the vice president provided his most extensive comments to date about the ongoing internal deliberations in Washington over the course of the Afghan conflict, saying “to fail to sit back and reassess where we are, I think, would be absolutely imprudent.”

Mr. Vice President, President Obama’s speech in March announced a new Afghanistan strategy. He made a strong case for what needed to be done. Here’s what he said then:

Today, I’m announcing a comprehensive, new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. And this marks the conclusion of a careful policy review, led by Bruce, that I ordered as soon as I took office. My administration has heard from our military commanders, as well as our diplomats. We’ve consulted with the Afghan and Pakistani governments, with our partners and our NATO allies, and with other donors and international organizations. We’ve also worked closely with members of Congress here at home. And now I’d like to speak clearly and candidly to the American people.

The situation is increasingly perilous. It’s been more than seven years since the Taliban was removed from power, yet war rages on, and insurgents control parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Attacks against our troops, our NATO allies, and the Afghan government have risen steadily. And most painfully, 2008 was the deadliest year of the war for American forces.

Many people in the United States, and many in partner countries that have sacrificed so much, have a simple question: What is our purpose in Afghanistan? After so many years, they ask, why do our men and women still fight and die there? And they deserve a straightforward answer.

So let me be clear: Al Qaeda and its allies, the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks, are in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan. And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban, or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged, that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can.

It sounds like President Obama is saying that killing the Taliban and al-Qa’ida was his highest national security priority. I don’t think that thoughtful people disagree with that. Next, let’s review what President Obama said and see if there’s been any significant change in Afghanistan since he made that speech.

• Has the Taliban become less of a threat inside Afghanistan?
• If NATO and US troops are pulled from Afghanistan, is it likely that the Taliban would topple the Afghan government?
• If the Taliban toppled the Afghan government, would they provide sanctuary for al-Qa’ida?
• If Afghanistan returned to being a sanctuary for al-Qa’ida, is it likely that they’d quickly resume planning terrorist attacks throughout the world, including attacks on the US homeland?