is winding down an unpopular war.
Nixon for example for all his cunning made a hash of exiting Viet Nam thanks to his morbid greivances and petty power mongering all of which undercut any attempt to build bipartisan consensus behind a new policy in Southeast Asia.
Obama at least understands that nothing can be done in Iraq without consensus here at home. Part of building consensus means bringing in a national security team with a diverse range of opinion. then it's up to the President to set policy and see matters thru. The main thing here is, Obama knows he cannot prosper in office with the war going on and on, he needs a dignified exit, that is at the core of his mandate. Hilary Clinton and General Jones can read election returns pretty well, they wouldn't have signed on if they didn't know in broad terms what the new policy would be.
Besides, Democratic national security teams tend towards caution and have an outward conservative cast...a legacy of McCarthyism even in the 21st century.
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