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Skepticism Makes Sense Well-informed analysts know to keep the champagne on ice. At a conference at Tufts University last week attended by experts on Afghanistan, not a single optimistic take on that nation's long-standing problems could be heard. One comment became a refrain: "I have no doubt that peace will one day come to Afghanistan, but I can't say if it will be in 50 or 200 years," a speaker said. "What I can say is that at the rate we are going now, it's unlikely to be any sooner than that...
Even if McChrystal's officials are a huge success, two other crucial planks in Obama's plan to start pulling U.S. forces from Afghanistan in mid-2011 already look worm-eaten. One is the creation of a legitimate, reliable government in Kabul: since Karzai's contentious election late last year, Afghanistan's President has shown little inclination to ditch his corrupt cronies. Nor is there yet an Afghan security force capable of taking over from the Americans. Although U.S. commanders carefully talk up the contributions of the 4,500 Afghan National Army soldiers (two had been killed) and police...
...assessment of how its own interests may best be defended. Remember, too, that no matter how well Operation Moshtarak seems to be going, many Taliban commanders think they are winning. Whatever happens in Marjah, they can point to a widening influence across Afghanistan. They also have been heartened by last week's announcement that the 2,000-strong Dutch contingent will be departing this year because Holland's coalition government was unable to agree on an extension of its deployment - another indication of how unpopular the Afghan war is in the nations whose troops are fighting...
...Specific reasons for the failure of the deal, first announced last June, were not released. But Chinese regulators had frowned on the purchase for much the same reasons that U.S. consumers shunned the Hummer: the vehicle's size and poor fuel economy were impractical in an era of high fuel prices, general economic weakness and greater concern about the harmful effects of vehicle emissions on the environment. (See the 50 worst cars of all time...
...behemoth vehicle, which topped out at 15 m.p.g. for the once popular 2½-ton H3 model. A descendant of the U.S. military's humvee, which was built by AM General, the Hummer peaked in popularity in 2006, when GM sold more than 70,000 of the vehicles. By last year, sales had fallen to 9,000. (See pictures of the best-selling cars in China...