CONCRETE QUESTION - U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Gamache, right, performs a concrete slump test, which measures moisture in cement, with an Afghan contractor, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, June 12, 2010, Gamache is an engineer for the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team, whose members oversee the quality of construction. U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Demetrius LesterYes We Can … Win in Afghanistan -- Max Boot, Commentary Magazine
Andrew Exum has posted a short reply to my critique of his hand-wringing article on Afghanistan. He begins on a nice note: “I respect the heck out of Max Boot and consider him among the smartest of the thinkers often lumped under the label ‘neoconservative’.” (I especially like the way he distances himself from the cliched neocon label.) He then goes on to concede, “Boot is right, to a degree, about political will.” (I had written that, although political will is now lacking in the United States, it could easily be manufactured, if only President Obama were to be slightly more resolute.) But Andrew writes:
Read more ....I think Boot, like many other neoconservatives, overestimates the importance of U.S. actions and downplays the agency of others. So Afghanistan will definitely be a success if we will it? Sorry, but that’s not how third-party counterinsurgency campaigns work. The actions of others matter as much or more than our own.
Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Germany's Mission in Afghanistan: Ex-Defense Officials Skeptical of Success -- Christoph Schwennicke, Spiegel Online
Obama must keep to his Afghanistan deadline -- Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
From Vietnam to Afghanistan: Not winning hearts and minds -- Henry Allen, Washington Post
What Happened in Kyrgyzstan? -- Stephen Schwartz, Weekly Standard
Making No Friends in the Middle East -- Abe Greenwald, Commentary Magazine
Iran’s Next Rival: Turkey -- Meir Javedanfar, The Diplomat
How the US and China can avoid conflict -- Steve Yetiv, Christian Science Monitor
The Great Anglo-American Spat -- Victor Davis Hanson, National Review
Why China Isn't At The World Cup -- Ray Tsuchiyama, Forbes
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