Interesting quote:
“The goal now is to defeat Al Qaeda and stabilize the region. Americans — and Democrats in Congress — are very wary of region stabilizing. It suggests, in essence, imperial command over a chaotic area — the assumption of responsibility for an interest that isn’t clear, and the sacrifice of American lives because other countries can’t get their priorities straight.”
It’s reasonable to be wary I think. Here’s Holbrooke from a speech given at and reported on by NYU Law on Oct 17th, 2008:
“The Bush administration did not level with the American public about the long-term nature of this war, and the next American president must,” he said. “If it matters to us, we have to hunker down for the long haul.”
I don’t envy him.
See Also: From Commonweal: Andrew Bacevich “The War We Can’t Win: Afghanistan And The Limits Of American Power”… Anthony Cordesman and fellows have a report here, entitled: “Resourcing For Defeat-Critical Failures In Planning, Programming, Budgeting And Resourcing The Iraq And Afghan Wars”
