Try a ‘tougher’ way in U.S. war

The Oct. 9 editorial, “A failure of commitment” (The Daily Progress), invites the question: How tough is President Obama, anyway?
Gen. Stanley McChrystal says we need more troops to win, whether the Afghanis like it or not. Even if we are engaged in a “war of ideas,” we’re talking about America’s national security after all, not Afghanistan’s. Aren’t we?
But what are the troops going to be there for? Crushing “the enemy” and threatening overwhelming retaliation for future attacks may be only part of the need.
It would be better for America if conquest of its enemies had more Christianity in it. We rebuilt Europe, including Germany, after the second of two world wars. We had a chance to rebuild Lebanon after Israel “won” its war there, but we let that slip. Let us not forget that in the long run, the only practical way to defeat enemies is to love them. It is important to our country that Obama be tough enough to lay down that demanding gauntlet.
Creigh Deeds is not a standard-issue tough guy, either. If Democrats — whatever their faults — do not retain last year’s electoral victory in Virginia next month, it may be taken as evidence that the American people have failed in our commitment to build a world free of the self-righteous motivations that feed terror. If Obama’s party — and we — are tough enough to prevail in that battle, Americans can be justifiably proud.

Henry D. McHenry Jr.
Albemarle County