Barack Obama met with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on Sunday at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. Afghan Presidential Palace, via Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFrom Foreign Policy/Shadow Government :
The biggest question I brought into the Munich Security Conference this past weekend was, what is to be done in Afghanistan?
I've been struck by how quickly U.S. public opinion has shifted from the "good war" to looming quagmire. In part this is because there's more public focus now on the problem and, with it, a growing recognition of just how hard it really is. The Obama administration is learning this too, and has thus sought to lower expectations after alleging that Bush over-promised and under-delivered. That move has only fed elite and popular fears, not assuaged them. For me, all this raised a lot of questions about what U.S. goals should be and what is really achievable, especially with so much else on our plate right now, both at home and abroad.
So I spent my weekend in Munich posing these questions to people who knew far more about the situation than I -- senior military officials, ambassadors, South Asia specialists, and counterinsurgency experts. Here are a few points I took away:
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My Comment: Another good commentary from one who has spent a considerable amount of time examining the situation in the country. A must read post for all.