Marathon Pundit: McConnell statement on McChrystal and Petraeus

During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Senator Obama told his followers that Afghanistan "is not a war of choice." Well, I still don't think that Obama's heart is in the Afghanistan fight, but now that Obama has fired his second Afganistan commander--that war is now his war. If we fail--and by God I hope we don't--it will be Obama's defeat.

Here's what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said about today's events:

In his remarks, the President restated our nation's goal in Afghanistan and Pakistan: to break the Taliban's momentum and to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda. Our nation is at war and all Americans should unite around this goal and provide our men and women in uniform the tools necessary to carry out this difficult mission.

We are once again fortunate to be able to call upon the selfless service of General David Petraeus to answer the call of duty. His experience in carrying out at a counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq, when many questioned whether or not such a strategy could succeed, should provide a tremendous resource as he leads our forces in Afghanistan. Having known General Petraeus since his days serving at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, I have the utmost confidence in his leadership and I expect the Senate to quickly approve his nomination. General Stanley McChrystal has spent all of his adult life in service to our nation, carrying out some of the most important and perilous tasks that we ask of our warriors. Our country is indebted to General McChrystal and his family.

Al Qaeda was at war with the United States long before the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the threat from radical terrorists confronts America every day. We must remain committed to defeating this threat, and supportive of the men and women who give their lives in pursuit of this task.