Strength Before Brilliance

The long process during which President Obama has reconsidered America’s commitment to what he described as a necessary war in Afghanistan has transformed the purpose of his West Point speech tomorrow night.  The first-order question is not the number of troops or the proper strategy; it’s more elemental: does this man believe in victory?

The world wants to know.  The U.S. military wants a clear mission from its commander-in-chief and to feel that he has the will to win. The American public wants to understand why it should sacrifice blood and treasure.  The Afghans want to know whether we will stand by them.  Our allies and our enemies will watch as well, and judge our nation according to their assessment of our president.

The message he must communicate is beyond pure reason.  The troop numbers, the strategic rationale and the policy direction matter more as indicators of temperament than as elements of an argument. The question of commitment was less pressing six months ago when Gen. Stanley McChrystal, trumpets across Washington blaring, was sent to take command in Afghanistan.  But now it can no longer be avoided.  The current moment is a test of the president’s “courage d’esprit,” of his determination.  As ever, Clausewitz put it aright:

Determination, which dispels doubt, is a quality that can be aroused only by the intellect, and by a specific cast of mind at that.  More is required to create determination than a mere conjunction of superior insight with the appropriate emotions.  Same may bring the keenest brains to the most formidable problems, and may possess the courage to accept serious responsibilities; but when faced with a difficult situation they still find themselves unable to reach a decision….In short, we believe that determination proceeds from a special type of mind, from a strong rather than a brilliant one.

Tom Donnelly is director of the Center for Defense Studies.