Several years ago, Obama told the Germans that they ought to send more
troops to Afghanistan so that the USA could reduce its own military commitment there
and thereby reduce the burden on its taxpayers.
German opinion was summarized as: “Ach du lieber! Why should we strengthen our forces so that US citizens can get a tax cut?”
There was nothing wrong with asking Germany to contribute more soldiers,
but Obama certainly employed a strange tactic in doing so. His approach then seems much like his belated
effort to build a coalition against the Islamic State while simultaneously
vowing that no US troops will enter combat on the ground. I can imagine a typical response to his
diplomatic efforts:
“If I understand you correctly, Mr. President—All right, all right, ‘Your Imperial Majesty’—, you expect other countries such as mine to supply the thousands of ground troops that will be needed to defeat the Islamic State, while your military does nothing but carry out ‘airstrikes’. And so, we suffer all the casualties, and then, if victory comes, you’ll arrogate all the credit for the success, just as the NATO did 15 years ago regarding Kosovo, or as you did when Gadhafi was killed. Do you think that we’re as stupid as the people who voted for you?”
