Interview with Gordon Goldstein conducted by Gregor Peter Schmitz: 'Obama Is Absolutely Right to Re-evaluate Afghanistan Strategy'

Gordon Goldstein's book on the lessons of the Vietnam War is required reading in the Obama White House. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, Goldstein talks about why Obama should think long and hard about sending more troops to Afghanistan and not rush into the kinds of decisions that Vietnam-era politicians now regret.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: President Barack Obama asked his national security team to read your book"Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam," which examines America's tragic involvement in Southeast Asia. Why do you think he did that?

Gordon Goldstein: It's not uncommon for presidents to look at history to guide them as they confront challenges. As he pondered the risks of accidental war in the nuclear age, President Kennedy required his senior counsellors to read Barbara Tuchman's book,"The Guns of August," which is about the chain of events that culminated in the outbreak of World War I. In the case of Afghanistan, the parallels with Vietnam are substantial enough to demand that these lessons be studied once more.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: One of the lessons of your book is that counsellors give advice, but presidents must make decisions. Obama has still not made a decision about deploying more troops to Afghanistan and, in fact, he has been accused of"dithering" for not making up his mind.

Goldstein: This president is facing an enormously complex and fluid situation on the ground in Afghanistan. He is also facing what will be the most consequential decision of his presidency in terms of foreign affairs. Obama is completely justified to take the systematic approach he has started and to look methodically at all the options.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Still, he already announced the results of a" comprehensive review" in March. So many experts are wondering why the White House is reconsidering its strategy all over again.

Goldstein: Six months ago, Obama appointed a new field commander in Afghanistan and put a new emphasis on implementing a counterinsurgency strategy. Since then, however, the internal security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated. The addition of 21,000 troops to the command of General Stanley McChrystal there has not had a visible impact in terms of pacifying the country. We are suffering the highest number of US casualties in the eight years of this war. And thousands of more troops have been requested. For there reasons, the president is absolutely right to re-evaluate the strategy and its realistic prospects for success.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Two of your other lessons are that the president has to command the generals and that politics is the enemy of strategy. Given the ongoing public debate about the Afghanistan strategy, can Obama still follow these precepts?

Goldstein: Obama is in the process of commanding the generals; this is the purpose of his strategic review. Despite some criticism about the length and scope of that exercise, he has been indifferent to political considerations.