Mr President, I approve.

President Obama has put 17,000 troops into Afghanistan... without a whole lot of warning to the people he represents. In this White House Memo, Leading Military at Time of War, but Not as a ‘War President,’ the question of President Obama's leadership style is raised: Is the new President going to follow in his predecessors footsteps, or will he forge his own path?

Supporters of Obama who put him in office were slightly taken aback by his almost sneaky order to put troops into Afghanistan. After all, he was an outspoken critic of the Iraq War. The country waits expectantly to hear from the Obama Administration for the reasons behind the troop mobilization.

I believe we as a country have a duty to protect our borders both here and abroad, and I support US Troops no matter where they are because they are putting their lives on the line for me.

As I am about to head into the service as a US Marine, I'm glad to see my President showing his support for the troops. His visit to the wounded at Camp Lejeune gave the men and women who remembered his outspoken criticism of the Iraq War assurance that they would not be alone in their fight, that as a representative of the American people, the President would be behind them.

Personally, I'm excited; I can barely contain my enthusiasm. Things are happening in the world today, and very soon, I will have my opportunity to contribute my own small part toward those events.

-- Source --

Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. Leading Military at Time of War, but Not as a ‘War President’. 2009. March 22. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/us/politics/23chief.html?ref=us