U.S. Diplomat Matthew Hoh's resignation last week — the first such resignation in protest of the war in Afghanistan — highlighted not only the futility of the war in Afghanistan, but Obama's enduring commitment to it.  Afghanistan has always been Obama's War.  Even candidate Obama used Afghanistan as a counterpoint for Iraq — Afghanistan was the just war. 

His much-vaunted tour of Europe during the campaign was partly to drum up support among allies for a stepped-up campaign in Afghanistan.  From his wildly praised Berlin speech: "The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and yoursupport to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy,and to help them rebuild their nation."

Hoh's admission that  he had "lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," is significant. A former U.S.Marine Captain and the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban stronghold, his resignation is an act of conscience and courage.

Obama's starry-eyed supporters, many of whom, despite their candidate's own statements very much to the contrary even on the campaign trail, insisted he would end Bush's wars (I must admit even I took him at his word on Guantanamo), have for the most part remained mum on the issue of Afghanistan, which President Obama has called a "war of necessity".

(In fact, his rhetoric in remarks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in August, sound not just Bushlike, but downright Cheneyesque: "Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which al Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting. This is a — this is fundamental to the defense of our people.")

It's neocons like Robert Kagan and conservatards like Peggy Noonan who've started squawking out against war in Afghanistan now that Obama's finally taking the reins.  Wouldn't it be ironic if tea-bagging contrarians of the "I hope Obama fails" school took up the anti-war cry?  Given their ability to sway the healthcare debate and to influence the president's domestic agenda, a few thousand wingnuts on the White House lawn might accomplish what millions marching on the Washington Mall have failed to.