It now seem probable that Obama will agree to commit about 30,000 more troupes to Afghanistan.  I guess it was a hard choice, and I don’t think I’m being too controversial in saying that I expect he wishes that America wasn’t at war in such a difficult country.  It seems pretty tricky to see what the coalition forces are doing in Afghanistan now.  The Taliban seem to still be going strong, the drugs trade is doing better than even, Pakistan has been seriously destabilized, and the elected government appears more corrupt than ever.    It would thus be very tempting to suggest that we just leave now.

Might I suggest though, that the right or wrong of the war, and in fact the war aims are things that now can be discounted.  Ok, so we need to know when we have won, one presumes this is when a stable pro-western government is strongly in command.   But the reality is that, rightly or wrongly, we are in Afghanistan now, and must look to the future.  It is of vital importance that we do not show the world that limited resistance and low death rates will scare us off any engagement, no matter what the provocation.  Odd that it may sound, the coalition need to commit to winning the war in Afghanistan, even if its at a cost that is disproportionate to the ends we achieve.  The lesson must be taught to the world the west is willing and able to go to war, and win. 

If you think that this is some abstract logic, or that allowing the deaths of hundreds of people out of some principle is somehow immoral.  Its worth remembering that security is a serious business.  In order to be secure in the future and maintain our standards of living we must make certain that the message gets out that we will defend ourselves, and we will win.