Afghan Ambivalence

Fred Kaplan has mixed feelings about the war:

Which road is less unappetizing? I don't know. That's why I'm ambivalent.

My guess is that President Obama held so many meetings with his national-security advisers on this topicnine, plus a 10^th on Sunday night to get their orders and talking points straightbecause he wanted to break through his own ambivalences; because he needed to come up with a reason (not just a rationalization) for doing whatever it is that he's decided to do, some assurance that it really does make sense, that it has a chance of working, so he can defend it to Congress, the nation, and the world with conviction. Let's hope he found something. A columnist can be ambivalent; a president can't be.

Joe Klein adds his two cents.

(Image: David Furst/Getty)