1954? or 1965?

So Bob Woodward does it again, breaking a big story, the classified report from Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Although Woodward is comparing this to the Pentagon Papers, none other than Daniel Ellsberg notes that the present document (unclassified version at the link above) is an official report, not the kind of unvarnished behind-the-scenes material that compromised the PPs.

Nonetheless, the report shows we're at a crucial juncture. Will McChrystal ask for more troops? If so, how many, and will Obama comply? Will this be like early 1954, when Dwight Eisenhower asked Matthew Ridgway (left) to brief his cabinet on the options for intervening in the climactic French-Viet Minh battle at Dien Bien Phu? Ridgway pointed out the size and logistical difficulties of such an operation and suggested that even with seven US divisions and the use of tactical nuclear weapons, long-term success in the war - his real criteria - was far from certain. Eisenhower (who had probably already decided against the intervention) let the general do the persuading. We let the French lose and the Viet Minh war came to a (sort of) negotiated settlement with no loss of American lives.

Eleven years later, Lyndon Johnson faced an even more dire situation and made a very different choice. This time his generals and his Defense Department looked only at the immediate problem - security for air bases from which to launch retaliatory strikes against North Vietnam, rather than the kind of global, long-range view Ridgway had taken. LBJ committed Marines to defend the bases; the Marines asked for and got permission to do search and destroy missions, General Westmoreland asked for more troops to safeguard those already there - and the ball was rolling to a half million men in an ill-defined mission allied with a weak, corrupt, illegitimate South Vietnamese government.

Which way will Obama turn? My hope is that he listens to Joe Biden and others who are saying cut the size of the force and re-prioritize the fight against Al Qaeda, not the Taliban. Obama could even use McChrystal's own words as a cover - note on page 2 that he writes "the key take away from this assessment is the urgent need for a significant change to our strategy and the way that we think and operate."

Does Obama have the guts to a. stand up to the demand for more forces; b. change strategy; or c. the really brave option: say it's not our fight and bring all of our forces home?