Wars of Choice

President Obama addressing the VFW:

But we must never forget: This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity. 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.

I agree with this. What I disagree with is the implication that we should fight a "war of necessity" and should not fight a "war of choice."

A "war of necessity" is what happens when the enemy is given all the time and space they want to make their attack. It lets them be fully prepared and in control of the initiative. They can pick their moment for the attack that they feel gives them the best chance of victory. A "war of necessity" is a war of the enemy's choice.

That can only happen when our leaders pass up every opportunity to take the initiative, to disrupt the enemy's preparations, to open battle at a time that favors us instead of them. That's happened more than once in our history and it's led to unnecessary American deaths.

Our nation should only fight "wars of choice." Anything else is a failure of our leaders.