Obama Dialing Back Afghanistan Hopes

Obama says goals in Afghanistan attainable, modest: "U.S. President Barack Obama, facing public doubts about his ability to turn the tide in the unpopular Afghanistan war, said on Sunday his goals there are both modest and attainable."

We will still have a big fight with the GOP hawks who will say we are giving up in Afghanistan, but the President is clearly laying a foundation for scaled-back objectives and meeting all announced dates for leaving that troubled country. If his objectives include pressuring the Taliban to be civilized, a big order, changing the government from Karzai and corruption, and stopping the killing of Afghans by foreigners, I would say these are not modest or necessarily attainable. But I hope he agrees they make sense. Surgical things on the Taliban without endangering civilians. Cutting the existing government little or no slack. Reducing our casualties and those of the Afghans.

Obama Dialing Back Afghanistan Hopes Modest and attainable are the President's latest words to describe the US hopes in Afghanistan.