US President Obama now owns a war. It’s in a place called Afghanistan.

He didn’t really have a choice about accepting delivery of this rather overripe and kinda tattered package. I’m no president, but if I were in his shoes, I think my first inclination would have been to mark it “Return to Sender” and to ship it back to a particular somebody in Texas.

Since that wasn’t an option, I doubt that President Obama could have accepted the mess much more graciously than he did in the speech he gave last night. His consistency in using terms of mutual respect and his refusal to demonize either Islam or indeed any group in the blanket way that the “right”, no matter what country it’s in, loves to do, is commendable. He changed, or at least created the opportunity to change, the tone, the characterization, of the conflict.

But will that tone carry downstream? That is up to the people who believe that armed conflict is about more than pummeling the other guy until he cries uncle. And then kicking him in the head for good measure. It is up to the people who believe that, justified or not, now that the US and the rest of NATO is there, it needs to find a way to plant seeds, not just destroy worlds.

There are millions of people like that in the US. They need to make themselves heard. They need to take the CNNs and Fox News’ and right wing sabre rattlers to task. They need to support their troops in a way that makes it clear that they are fully behind the struggle and sacrifice of their sons and daughters and husbands and wives and neighbours; and that their support is not contingent on how many notches someone has on a belt buckle.

The people of America sent a powerful message to the world when they sent Barack Obama to the White House. Those same people need to keep sending that message to those who, both inside and outside their great nation, aren’t sure they really meant it.

President Obama has given them an opportunity.

I hope they’ll take it.

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