From Time:
The problem with campaign promises, especially far-reaching ones, is that eventually they must be
The problem with campaign promises, especially far-reaching ones, is that eventually they must be kept. Throughout his campaign, Barack Obama pledged to reverse what he called one of the fundamental strategic blunders of the Bush Administration by returning to, and winning the war in, Afghanistan. But when Obama takes office on Jan. 20, he will inherit a war complicated by years of neglect. Seven years on, military commanders are struggling to find a winning strategy in a fight whose cost in both blood and treasure continues to mount even as security disintegrates. Coalition soldiers are dying in greater numbers now than in any year since 2001. So are Afghan civilians — who are victims of the insurgency as well as mistaken aerial bombardments made necessary by a shortage of troops. The Bush Administration, in its assessment due in December, will recommend a doubling of the Afghan military, yet it neglects to say how that impoverished country can support an army of 160,000 or more. Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was not exaggerating when he warned last week that the Afghan war would be the biggest challenge for Obama after the economic crisis.
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