Well, I guess its looking more and more like President O is caving to political pressure on Afghanistan. This shift of focus on al-Qaeda while ignoring a proper plan for Afghanistan is frightening. It seems that Gen. McChrystal's request for additional troops is looking less and less likely to occur. Obama has two views that dominate his cabinet: Defense Secretary Gates and Sectary of State Clinton are advocating a long-term presence with a troop build-up, while Biden has his eyes narrowed to wiping out al-Qaeda in Pakistan (where they almost entirely are located). Meanwhile the public has little taste for war these days and the war (or whatever you want to call it) has now reached the 8 year mark.
Supposedly he has rejected the "Biden option" of using special forces to go into Pakistan and wipe out Taliban leaders, but I think the idea has seeped in nonetheless. That would be a shame because the last thing America should be doing is doubling-down. What Afghanistan needs is more nation-building and infrastructure projects. It needs a Marshall Plan.
The Taliban is indeed very powerful, but they are not particularly popular. Rule under the Taliban was brutal and most Afghans would benefit much more from a Moderate regime. Maybe that doesn't mean a full-functioning democracy. I don't think America's responsibilities go that far, but surely we owe it to that nation to pull out our presence only after it is stronger than before. There must be enough civilian institutions to defend the country politically and militarily from the influence of neighboring interestes (remember that al-Qaeda is made of CIA trained operatives and the Taliban is the product of an oil-hungry Pakistan intelligence service). So, I'm hoping that our President has the foresight to see that winning in Afghanistan is imperative and the conditions of any "victory" must include self-rule and a semblence of stability. If that means more troops and more money, then so be it.
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