What Peace Dividend?

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott Shepro, left kneeling, meets with village elders during a foot patrol in Afghanistan's southern Ghazni province, May 8, 2012. Shepro, a platoon sergeant, is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s Company C, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

In This War, Even The Peace Dividend Will Cost You -- DoD Buzz

The past is gone, you can’t get back money you’ve already spent — what’s done is done. The war in Afghanistan may not get one of the good chapters in future histories of the United States, but at least it’s almost over, right?

That seems to be the sense of many Americans as next week’s NATO summit in Chicago approaches. By overwhelming margins, the nation wants the war to end, and unlike Iraq, it doesn’t even seem to want consolation prizes such as repayments or permanent bases. As you’ve read here before, though, the U.S. is locked into Afghanistan for at least another 12 years, including the transfer of authority to Kabul and then the longer-term training and counterterrorism agreement President Obama announced.

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My Comment: Depressing reading throughout.