Tell Us What You Really Think, George Will

George Will can't seriously think that America will be able to control the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan using "intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units." That makes no sense. There's an argument to be made that we'd be better off cutting our loses in Afghanistan by withdrawing troops, but it can't be made while simultaneously stating that we need to "concentrate on" the border. What, exactly, will we be concentrating there? Our attention?

Actually, I seem to recall that Afghanistan was a major regional exporter of food (primarily wheat and vegetables) in the 1960s and 1970s, before the coups and Soviet invasion. So the idea of getting the nation back to growing crops is not as stupid as someone like Will thinks it is. Which is not to say that doing so requires some herculean efforts on the part of the international community and the Afghan government (ideally a different sort of Afghan government than we have today).

Excellent post.

Just excellent on the implications of using "endive" as a bit of elite snobbery.

The problem is that Obama campaigned on the centrality of the war in Afghanistan as part of the war on terror--yes his spokesman used that phrase today in place of "overseas perational" whatever --in significant part--how much he believed it,I don't know; I'd imagine some--to set himself apart from in the first instance Hillary Clinton and in the second instance from John McCain.

He had to show some foreign policy toughness, that he was not a foreign policy wimp. So he chose and argued for Aghanistan.

He can't win there. The surge strategy can't work there.

He can't fight the Iraq war there.

Now McChrystal is calling for more troops and the Republicans will be rubbing Obama face in it. Obama here is hoisted by the petard of his own campaign rhetoric as prose informs poetry.

He's fucked if he stays and he's fucked if he leaves.

And Iraq is getting more tindery as O draws down troops.

Bush emerged from his presidency without these problems.

Will is making part of this argument.

But, more importantly, Will said, quippingly, Afghanis should be told to grow "endives" or whatever.

I'm glad we have an AfPak Strategy Document because to my uninformed eyes it looks like we have

a) Afghanistan, a country that would like to defeat the Taliban but can't
b) Pakistan, a country that could defeat the Taliban but won't.

This is a morbid combination, and it's gonna take one smart strategy document to sort out.

In some respects, if we could stop bankrolling Pakistan (after neutralizing their nukes in some way), and concentrate on building up Afghan national assets, we might be better off.

Obama put himself between a rock and a hard place. This one is all on him and I'm having a hard time imagining how he resolves it, one way or the other, without being nailed by the opportunistic GOP. They are already laying the groundwork for it and Will's column is just the opening shot.

George Will is still steamed that, after inviting Barack Obama to HIS house for dinner, the president decided to have a bromance with a competitor instead.

Not only that but David Brooks looks even sillier wearing denim than he does.

Indeed, to picture either one of them in denim watch Barbarians At the Gate one more time and take note of Henry Kravitz at the Wall Street hoedown.

Now THAT is cruel and unusual punishment if there ever was one.

Besides, I followed Sisyphus up and down that mountain many a time and he never once spoke of Will other than with a ribald contempt he usually reserves for Rush Limbaugh's little dick.

gw