Address at the Reagan Presidential Library (March 13, 2012)
“President Bush gave over forty speeches about the war on terrorism and the importance of victory. President Obama has given three. We must do a better job of communicating the importance of this fight. We must do a better job highlighting the stories of courage and daring our military have etched into the stone of history. Our troops have earned that honor, and our troops deserve that honor.”
Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad with Candy Crowley
On CNN “State of the Union” (March 18, 2012)
Khalilizad: “Do we know what we are doing when these incidents happen and President Karzai makes the statements that he has done? It raises questions in the minds of the people, do we know what we are doing? Are we succeeding? [Recent polling] reflects a crisis of confidence, a momentary one, and whether we know what we are doing, are we achieving our goals, are our goals clear? I think it reinforces the point that the admiral made, which is we need to be very clear about what it is that we are about in Afghanistan, and what it is that we are doing, and are we achieving our goals? That needs to be communicated far more effectively than has been the case.”
Crowley: “That’s the President’s job, is it not…?”
Washington Post editorial board
“The good news in Afghanistan should come from President Obama” (March 20, 2012)
“Lastly, Mr. Obama must do more to build support in the United States for his policy. The president has given just a handful of speeches on Afghanistan during his first term, and his recent public comments have focused on bringing troops home, rather than completing their mission. While Gen. Allen is doing his best this week, the most prominent advocate for continuing to put U.S. lives on the line should be Mr. Obama.”