Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- October 29, 2009

U.S. Marines prepare to move to a different fighting position after receiving fire during a security patrol through the Nawa district in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009. The Marines, assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, were conducting security patrols to decrease insurgent activity and gain the trust of the Afghan people. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Artur Shvartsberg

Transcripts of Defeat (Following The Soviet Mistakes In Afghanistan) -- Victor Sebestyen, New York Times

THE highly decorated general sat opposite his commander in chief and explained the problems his army faced fighting in the hills around Kabul: “There is no piece of land in Afghanistan that has not been occupied by one of our soldiers at some time or another,” he said. “Nevertheless much of the territory stays in the hands of the terrorists. We control the provincial centers, but we cannot maintain political control over the territory we seize.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Why the CIA Can't Be Picky About Afghan Partners -- Robert Baer, Time

We’ve got to figure out what our aims are in Afghanistan before we talk strategy. -- Andrew Bacevich, The New Republic

Troop Level in Afghanistan is the Easy Part -- Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times

Counterterrorism Begs for a Strategy -- Richard B. Myers, Washington Times

Keeping Our Allies On Our Side in Afghanistan -- Leo Michel and Robert Hunter, Los Angeles Times

Barack Obama must face down the ghost of Vietnam -- Ben Macintyre, The Times

Waziristan: the last bastion of terrorists —- Shaukat Qadir, Daily Times

Iran: Can Obama Play Hardball? -- Robert Kagan, Washington Post

Another day, another deadline in the fight to hold back Iran -- David Blair, Daily Telegraph

Israel's New Weapon: Water -- Matt Beynon Rees, Real Clear World/Global Post

Russia's Political Murders -- Washington Post editorial

Biden's Missile-Defense Missteps -- Peter Brookes, China Post

Truman and the Principles of U.S. Foreign Policy -- V.D. Hanson, WSJ