Afghanistan Is A Mess

I have consistently expressed support for the President's initiative to bring bring peace and security to Afghanistan.  While I believed he took far too long to reach his decision, I could not in good conscience deny the President the opportunity to execute his own strategy for winning, even if it seemed to represent path I would not have followed.  The George Bush precedent in Iraq (doubling down and succeeding--if only for a time) was a powerful one for me, and I believed the President should be supported.

No more.  Afghan President's Karzai's recent statements urging the US to throttle back on its operations are either A) the rantings of an addled mind  B) the statements of someone who has already cut a deal with the Taliban or C) both.  Irrespective of the case, it is crystal clear that we do not have a reliable partner in charge there, and that our continuing efforts are unlikely to be successful, especially given the murkiness of what actually constitutes "success". 

General Petreaus' approach is having an impact, but what good is it if that impact is destroyed by the duplicity of Mr. Karzai?  Brave Soldiers and Marines are dying every day to give the Afghan people the opportunity to live in peace and stability, while the nation's President accepts bags of cash from the Iranians and coddles the Taliban.

Mr. President, I believe you did the right thing, I believe you fought the good fight.  But we can't want peace and stability more than the Afghans themselves.  It's time to begin the drawdown and shift to a strategy that stresses capturing and killing terrorists rather than attempting to remake (make?) an entire society.