Obama Replaces McChrystal, Affirms Committment to Afghan War

In making what is probably the best speech of his presidency, Obama lavished praise on McChrystal, restated the mission and made a compelling case for why we're in Afghanistan, and picked the best man for the job in naming General Petraeus as McChrystal's replacement.

I’ve just told my national security team that now is the time for all of us to come together. Doing so is not an option, but an obligation. I welcome debate among my team, but I won’t tolerate division. All of us have personal interests; all of us have opinions. Our politics often fuels conflict, but we have to renew our sense of common purpose and meet our responsibilities to one another, and to our troops who are in harm’s way, and to our country.

We need to remember what this is all about. Our nation is at war. We face a very tough fight in Afghanistan. But Americans don’t flinch in the face of difficult truths or difficult tasks. We persist and we persevere. We will not tolerate a safe haven for terrorists who want to destroy Afghan security from within, and launch attacks against innocent men, women, and children in our country and around the world.

So make no mistake: We have a clear goal. We are going to break the Taliban’s momentum. We are going to build Afghan capacity. We are going to relentlessly apply pressure on al Qaeda and its leadership, strengthening the ability of both Afghanistan and Pakistan to do the same.

That’s the strategy that we agreed to last fall; that is the policy that we are carrying out, in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“We have just witnessed a historically significant moment in the Obama presidency,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). “It’s a decisive show of leadership.”

From Politco

And his replacement, Gen. David Petraeus, is virtually guaranteed a quick and easy Senate confirmation to take over the Afghan war. As Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), put it, Petraeus’s confirmation “may be the fastest in the history of the Armed Services Committee.” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), added: “I believe he is the right person to take over this command.”

Now about that withdrawl date...