Afghanistan--Better Defended by Someone Else

In this piece, a better defense of the Afghanistan mission is presented than I did in my blog struggles the past couple of weeks.

I would argue that the Afghan situation is not yet hopeless. As I wrote on the eve of the election, there is still a definite Afghan majority in the country that wants not only peace but some version of democracy. The central government still has a modicum of legitimacy, though it may not last for long. The plan to increase troops in the near future in order to give the Afghan army time to grow stronger in the long term is neither stupid nor naive, particularly if accompanied by sensible investments in roads and agriculture. But such a plan cannot be carried out without public support, and public support will not be forthcoming unless politicians agitate for it.

It does also address the failure of civilian leadership to explain the war, and hopes that Obama can make the case.