This video is a pleasant reminder that the politicians who act on knee-jerk reactions to incomplete information lost power in 2008. The two most high-profile Republican candidates for the presidency in last year’s election attempted to pile pressure on President Obama to increase troop levels in Afghanistan. Sen. John McCain gently reaffirmed his belief that Obama should trust General McChrystal’s assessment of what is need to combat the insurgency and grant the request for 40,000 more soldiers, while Mitt Romney criticized Obama for not acting four months earlier.

Obama has been waiting till Afghanistan’s controversial presidential election reached a resolution to make a decision. It is only polite to include the government of the country you are occupying in any future strategies you may execute within its borders. Now that incumbent President Karzai has official been declared the winner, the US must figure out how much faith they have in his government and how exactly that faith translates into troops.