IN SIGHT - U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Mark Trent provides security inside a compound in Marja, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 16, 2010. Trent is assigned to India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tommy BellegardeAfghan Mess Bigger Than We Thought -- Robert Wehrle, Washington Times
Our efforts to help the police are sputtering.
Are we winning? After returning from a 15- month stint in Afghanistan, I find this is the single most-often-asked ques -tion as I make the rounds to re-establish old acquaintances and friendships. Strategically, our focus seems to have sharpened in the past 10 months. We've finally agreed to fight a counterinsurgency, and that will focus efforts at every level. But I know least about that.
At the operational level, where I worked with the Afghan National Police (ANP) for 15 months, things look a lot worse.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Dutch Courage -- Times Online editorial
Keeping You Safe: Iran will go nuclear and formally inaugurate the post-American era. -- Mark Steyn, National review
Obama’s slow burn will bring Iran into line -- Bill Emmott, Times Online
Will Iraq be an Obama achievement or nightmare? -- Jackson Diehl, Washington post
Broken 'engagement' in the Middle East -- Doyle McManus, L.A. Times
Burma: A First Step Toward Democracy? -- Stanley A. Weiss, New York Times
Thaksin case raises specter of violence -- Shawn W Crispin, Asia Times
Why are coups always led by colonels? -- Elizabeth Dickinson, Foreign Policy
Can the Euro Zone Cope with a National Bankruptcy? -- Spiegel online
The Smart Money Is on Smart Power -- Nancy Lindborg and Bill Lane, Real Clear World