The goal in Afghanistan isn't new

ARTICLE: In Afghanistan, U.S. May Shift Strategy, By Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post, July 31, 2009

When I was in Kabul on the Fallon trip, I interviewed the commander of U.S. forces (not coalition--just U.S.) and was basically given the same exact pitch in terms of goals. That was in late 2007.

So I don't see any shift here, just more resources and an attempt at better and more sophisticated execution.

But there has been no mystery as to what ails the effort.

Comments

[Andy B]

Interested in Tom's opinion on this recent article by Bacevich: http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/article.php3?id_article=2609

[Tom Barnett]

It's a beautiful straw man construction: America and America alone tries to win this war, and it must fail in its aloneness.

Obvious answer: socialize the problem.

But Bacevich never explores anything like that, because he's in pure America-must-be-stopped mode. Fine, but it makes him an unuseful one-note-Johnny.