Ten Views on Obama Strategy for Afghanistan

Here is a column from this coming Sunday's Washington Post.  It provides ten snapshot views of the President's new Strategy for Afghanistan.

People include Thomas E. Ricks (former Wash Post military reporter), Andrew J. Bacevich (Army retired and Boston College), Representative and former Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, Sarah Chayes (Advisor to Commander of US and NATO Troops in Afghanistan), Gilles Dorronsoro (Scholar), Clint Douglas (Former Army and freelance writer), John Nagl (Army retired and Tom Ricks' boss), Thomas H. Johnson (NPS), Andrew Natsios (local chap makes good and teaches at Georgetown) and Meghan O'Sullivan (now at Harvard).

Here is a sample:

Ask yourself:  When it comes to American prosperity and security, which matters more--Afghanistan or Mexico?  The question answers itself.  So if the United States has billions of dollars lying idle that it wishes to invest in development and security assistance, why prioritize Afghanistan?

And here Representative Kucinich makes a good point:

As President Obama's plan takes shape, it must carefully balance the imperative to withdraw with the need to help the Afghan people.  The ultimate goal must be to bring our troops home safely -- and soon.

And this, which is the last paragraph:

While many of Iraq's lessons do not fit Afghanistan, the centrality of population security is one worth remembering as the president recommits America to solving the challenges of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This was going to be a short post, but then I had to add a quote, and then another...

Regards  --  Cliff