Petraeus Not the Only One Fatigued by Afghanistan

To most people who follow developments in Afghanistan, it was clear that building a viable Afghan state would take more troops, more money, and more patience than the United States and its international partners could ever commit. These long-standing reservations were only intensified last November, when U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans for a 30,000-troop surge that would not only pacify population centers and train Afghan security forces, but also begin to wind down by July 2011--within 18 months of escalation.

But at a Senate hearing on Tuesday (before U.S. CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus passed out from dehydration), it became glaringly obvious that "success," if it's even still achievable, will take far longer than July 2011. Under intense questioning from both Sens. Carl Levin and John McCain, Gen. Petraeus explained that the drawdown would be based on conditions at the time, adding, "In a perfect world, Mr. Chairman, we have to be very careful with timelines." (It's not as if Gen. Petraeus promised the president that he can "train and hand over" the fight to Afghan security forces before next summer... Oh wait, he did.)

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