It seems clear Obama is not going to let this war just drag on and on FOR YEARS without trying new strategies, like our last president.

First of all, we are going from a more or less random search and destroy, containment policy of Al Qeada and the Taliban, to a clear mission statement where we seek to WIN this battle, and with built in reviews and benchmarks. It may sound simple but it is exactly what is needed after SEVEN years of a drifting counterinsurgency policy.

For at least three years commanders in Afghanistan have asked for more resources. They couldn’t get them from Bush. Obama sent 17k troops in January, and is now sending in 4k advisors to build up the Afghan forces -looking to the future when we can bring the boys home. Additionally he’s sending in hundreds of civilian aid workers to assist many aspects of Afghan society. Does that sound like the same old Bush policy?

Shifting the focus to massive development vs just killing bad guys is not in the Bush playbook. Sending more (and more tightly conditioned) military and civilian aid to Pakistan. Truly addressing the Pakistani component of this problem – it’s clear the two are no longer separated. Having special ambassadors to Pakistan and Afghanistan always in their face. Talking about economic development zones on the Afghan-Pak border. Bringing in ALL the nations in the region (the Central Asian states, the Gulf nations and Iran; Russia, India and China) to provide input into the effort. They all have a stake in defeating AQ.

All of this is new stuff. The leadership of Afghanistan and Pakistan having been complaining their situation has been ignored for a long time, but no more. It’s clear our focus has been greatly intensified.