REBOOTING AFGHANISTAN – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:  Comments in the days since Gen. David Petraeus was made commander in Afghanistan indicate that Republicans and even mature Democrats (who meet periodically in a small closet) are ready to allow flexibility in Afghanistan, with an eye toward success.  From The Politico:

Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that Gen. David Petraeus should be given flexibility to work around the July 2011 deadline to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan and should be allowed to choose his own civilian team.

"It is a major change in the middle of the surge. And I think you put the general in. He should make the call. If he can't work with the ambassador, the ambassador should be changed. ... I think we put all of our eggs in the Petraeus’ basket," Feinstein said on "Fox News Sunday."

If Petraeus needs more time to complete the mission in Afghanistan, "I would say give it to him, absolutely,” Feinstein said. “I think that he has flexibility, realistically."

Graham, also on Fox, said he wants clarity on what the withdraw date means.

If it is a goal where we all will try to start transferring power over to the Afghans, I’m OK with that," he said. "If it’s a date where people begin to leave no matter what, a predetermined withdraw date, that in my view it will doom this operation.”

Some sound comments there, especially about giving Petraeus his own civilian team.  He's got to have far more cooperation from the ambassador than McChrystal had.

And...

CIA Director Leon Panetta detailed Sunday what a win in the Afghanistan war would look like:

"Winning in Afghanistan is having an country that is stable enough to ensure there is no safety for Al Qaeda for a militant Taliban that welcomes Al Qaeda," Panetta said on ABC's This Week. "That is really the measure of success for us.Our purpose, our whole mission is to make sure that Al Queda never finds another safe haven from which to attack this country. That is the fundamental goal of why the U.S. is there. The measure of success for is: Do you have an Afghanistan stable enough to make sure that never happens?"

Panetta is one of the adults in the Obama administration.  That's a solid statement.  But the key questions remain:  Does Barack Obama agree with that sentiment, and is he willing to stand up to his left wing to achieve success?

I don't think those questions have been satisfactorily answered.

We are making an assumption here that Afghanistan can be won.  There are many thoughtful people, including Urgent Agenda readers, who believe that it can't, and that withdrawal may be in our interest.  Because these well-reasoned people may be right, and one made a powerful case at our Angel's Corner, it is up to the administration to come up with a strategy and resources that convince us that the fight is worth it.

June 27, 2010