In the past few days, the White House has made it clear that the president wants specific exit strategies for all his Afghan war options. That brought to mind the advice -- from almost a century ago -- of an American geopolitician describing the only exit strategy worth considering:
"Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there,
That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming everywhere.
So prepare, say a prayer,
Send the word, send the word to beware,
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back till it's over over there."
The geopolitician in question was, of course, that great Irish-American, Tin Pan Alley's own George M. Cohan. And by quoting his lyrics to World War I's most popular song, I don't mean to be frivolous. But millions of young men were prepared to risk their lives -- to not come back till it was over over there -- because they were called to fight for something our nation considered vital. Those farm boys didn't know about foreign policy, but they trusted their parents and their leaders not to send them off for no good reason.
Hearing the president's request for exit strategies at the beginning of what would be "his" Afghan war -- and thinking of our young troops, 18, 19, 20, 21 years old, who have volunteered to risk their lives for America -- how on God's good earth can we ask those wonderful kids to risk dying for an exit strategy? - Rasmussen Reports Commentary
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