Published for Shadow Government on foreignpolicy.com, August 25th, 2010:

Marine Commandant James Conway may have gotten himself in a bit of hot water with his recent public remarks about Afghanistan and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

On Afghanistan, General Conway said, “”We think right now [Obama's announced Afghanistan timeline is] probably giving our enemy sustenance… We’ve intercepted communications that say, hey, you know, we only have to hold out for so long… ” The New York Times gave this a more problematic headline ( Top Marine Says Afghan Deadline May Help Taliban) than did theWashington Post (Taliban could be misleading its forces) ( ). I bet the White House prefers thePost’s spin. But either way, Conway was simply stating the obvious: President Obama’s announced timeline for Afghanistan has some downsides. Even supporters of the timeline, if they are honest, must acknowledge this inarguable fact. Most experts go on to say that Obama mishandled the announcement and created needless confusion about the meaning of the timeline, thus exacerbating the downsides; this is my view. And most experts probably say that on balance the costs of the announced timeline may outweigh the benefits; this is also my view. And some even go so far as to view it as a strategic blunder that may inadvertently sabotage the surge, possibly jeopardizing the war; I am not prepared to say this at this point, but it is not an absurdly unreasonable fear. If General Conway had volunteered any of those additional opinions in public, he might have crossed a civil-military line (unless those opinions had been solicited in Congressional testimony). But he didn’t, and so he deserves a pass.

Full post here