Obvious Statement of the Month

This piece is a nice statement of the obvious. The title is:

"Civilian Goals Largely Unmet in Afghanistan"

Um, duh.

The disputed Aug. 20 Afghan election has laid bare the ineffectiveness of the government of President Hamid Karzai, administration officials said, and frozen steps toward reform.

Um, duh, again.

I guess someone has to say this stuff, but the failure to make any real progress on the civilian side is probably the reason why Obama is having a hard time deciding what to do. If progress was apparent, then it would be far easier to justify further investment and commitment.

Again, we have not been at this for very long, but the results thus far are so very discouraging.