One theme that has become noticeably absent from Barack Obama's recent press announcements, his weekly internet broadcasts, or his discussion of public policy from his imaginary "Office of the President Elect" (complete with its own seal) has been the discussion of immediately bringing the troops home.
The signs of Barack Obama going back on his biggest direct campaign promise are numerous. Secretary Gates is slated to stay on as his Defense Secretary. By extension that means that a number of items will likely not be touched. For starters it is likely the new administration will not revise Iraq policy given that the final regions to be turned over may even occur as he is being sworn in. He is also highly unlikely to interfere with the Gates/Petraeus combination that secured the victory in Iraq and are ready to transport that model to finish the business in Afghanistan.
This week's terror attacks in India however may be the most significant signal to date that Obama is willing to adapt to a much more Bushian doctrine than anything seen before. Late in the day on Wednesday of this past week the Obama camp also toughened their rhetoric in noticeable tone that looked nothing like what Obama campaigned on for the last two years.
“President-Elect Obama strongly condemns today's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India,” Obama spokesman Brooke Anderson said. “These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism. The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks."
Destroy terrorist networks?
If you want to see Google News or Lexis Nexis sputter and short-circuit look for the last time Barack Obama was ever on the record as wishing to "destroy" terrorists of any variety.
Maybe this change has been brought on by sheer pragmatism, complete hyprocrisy, or an outrigh