Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer had harsh words for President Obama over his decision to publicly announce the United States’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"I think it’s worse than a political act to announce the leaving - it’s kind of an act of personal narcissism," Krauthammer told the panel on Fox News’s Special Report Tuesday evening.
He said President Obama's decision to publicly announce the troop withdrawal is indicative of an administration that is politicizing foreign policy in an unprecedented fashion. "I mean, is that how we’re now setting the strategy of the United States of America - a war zone where so many have died and so much treasure and blood has been spent so a president can leave office looking good?" he asked.
President Obama campaigned on ending the war in Afghanistan in 2012, fueling speculation fulfilling a campaign promise and helping vulnerable Democrats is taking precedence over sound foreign policy at the White House.
Sens. John McCain (R., Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), and Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.) ripped the announcement in a joint statement earlier Tuesday, warning a full withdrawal from Afghanistan could have "disastrous consequences":
The president came into office wanting to end the wars he inherited. But wars do not end just because politicians say so. The president appears to have learned nothing from the damage done by his previous withdrawal announcements in Afghanistan and his disastrous decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq. Today’s announcement will embolden our enemies and discourage our partners in Afghanistan and the region. And regardless of anything the president says tomorrow at West Point, his decision on Afghanistan will fuel the growing perception worldwide that America is unreliable, distracted, and unwilling to lead.