In the Arena
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Good News

By Joe Klein | @JoeKleinTIME | January 30, 2009 | +

Well, maybe just some promising news: the team being assembled to tackle Afghanistan is quite impressive. A few days ago, it was announced that Vali Nasr, the brilliant Shi’ite scholar, would be a senior advisor to Richard Holbrooke’s negotiating team. Nasr’s book, The Shia Revival, is one of the indispensable works about the region and his presence on the team will mean a more sophisticated outreach toward Afghanistan’s neighbor to the west, Iran.

Today, it was announced that General Karl Eikenberry would be the next U.S. Ambassador to Kabul. Eikenberry has always been one of the new breed of Army officers: as much a diplomat, and a scholar, as he is a soldier. He was prescient about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan when he was U.S. commander there in 2006 and 2007. He has the ground-up knowledge of the country that will enable him to nudge (or push) the Karzai government toward responsibility; he also knows all about the disgraceful humanitarian relief situation, especially the spectacularly awful performance of the United Nations.

Afghanistan is still a near-impossible situation, but it’s good to know that the people dealing with it are among the best we can send there.

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  • newfloridian

    The adults are in charge…. SWEET!

  • http://smoothlikeremy.blogspot.com/ sgwhiteinfla

    Yeah but what about that “rookie” mistake???

  • http://policingwingnutwelfare.blogspot.com/ JJ
  • greenlyfe

    Thanks for the link to Amazon – I’ll pick that up. If you could; what do you think about the pushback online towards a ramp up in Afghanistan. I realize that the Obama team has only been here two weeks and they’re still reviewing the situation. But are we likely going to go all in to the country and is that wise; will this be another Vietnam?

    Thanks for your thoughts.

  • stuartzechman

    Afghanistan is still a near-impossible situation…
    .
    Joe Klein:
    .
    Why are we spending blood and treasure attempting to “solve” Afghanistan?

  • FlownOver

    We spent the last 7+ years making a pretense of dealing with the area where a real threat originates. Maybe now we have actual prospects for improvement of that situation.
    .
    Reality – what a concept!

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Yeah but what about that “rookie” mistake???

  • wvng

    JOe, yeah, what about that rookie mistake?
    .
    Rachel had an excellent segment on Afghanistan last night. Dan Rather just came back and offered a very realistic view of what is happening there. And Rather is one of the only people I’ve heard make the critical distinction between all the failed Afghan conquerors (England, Soviet Union, etc) and the purpose of the America presence there.
    .
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/28922812#28922812

  • cincinnatus est exterminata!

    Alexander fled, Trajan knew better…but we’re gonna ‘fix’ Afghanistan? There’s nothing to be gained and AQ is the least of our problems now. Let go of empire Joe, it’s over.

  • palininatowel

    I have such high hopes for Afghanistan that I just bought a vacation home there. I just hope Karzai doesn’t decide to put up a wind farm within sight of my property.

  • queencersei

    We need to get past the idea that Afghanistan is a problem that we are in any way capable of fixing, solving or conquering. It’s been tried by many and never seems to work out. I’m all for using some soft techniques, such as improving drinking water, trying to establish a decent educational system, assisting with health care. But even those seeming beign things come with huge complications. As for our chances of military success? I’m sure we are all holding our breath on that one.

  • 53_3

    I think we will eventually have to let Afghanistan to it’s own fate.
    .
    Iraq can’t be considered a “success” due to our actions alone. Maliki, last year, saw that his knards were toast if he didn’t act swiftly to do two things:
    .
    1. Subtly influence the elections by appearing to “not” endorse Obama’s 18 month plan over McCain’s “2013″ and “100 years if necessary” plan.
    2. Remove any influence Bush has over the process by stonewalling. If a SOFA were agreed upon too early on Bush’s terms, a green light to Israel could have been flashed.
    .
    By essentially stuffing Bush and the GOP, he yoinks his knards out of the fire they would be in if Israel attacked Iran – and he was having none of it.
    .
    Also, other resistance movements, seeing these developements, and Obama’s stated plans to leave, wound down the resistance in order to give the US a clean break.
    .
    That served two purposes: Save their resources by not fighting an enemy that was leaving anyway and greasing the skids for our exit when the time came.
    .
    The contributions of the military did help, but they are not the whole story. The geopolitical horizon for Maliki was very fortuitous.
    .
    The point is that Afghanistan is not likely to follow the same script, and it would be a good idea to keep the geopolitical situation in mind. Glad to hear that last acknowledgement from Joe.
    .
    Also, for the more bellicose, I might point out that the Taliban and Al-Queda are Iran’s problem as well as Afghanistans…

  • stuartzechman

    I know that this isn’t exactly, directly related to the situation in Afghanistan, but who knows?
    .
    Maybe in four to eight years, we’ll have something similar in a town far away from Kabul to show for our efforts?

  • formerlyjames

    Impossible is the key word. Karzai seemed to me at first blush to be a brilliant statesman. So much for first impressions as the place seems riddled with corruption and ineptitude, which allows the taliban to satisfy needs not met, and remain very much holding the trump hand. Karzai and his gang maybe spent too much time around Bushies before they moved on to Iraq. Actually, they are the self-serving thieves that they are, but I can’t help but take a shot at Bushies when the opportunity presents itself.
    .
    What to do, what to do. Whatever we have been doing and not doing is the key. Sum of my thought, pointing a finger at standard US foreign operating procedure and clucking my tongue.

  • formerlyjames

    I have had a more encouraging thought in the spirit of the bipartisianship for which everybody seems to have hopes. The mess in Afghanistan has been a truly bipartisian effort from Carter all the way to little Bush. Hail bipartisianship.

  • textee

    Joe Klein in Time magazine: “[Obama] could have … lacerated the bankers who got us into the economic mess. But that’s not his style, apparently.” Evidently, Klein and the adored socialist didn’t get the memo on Obama’s “style”.

    -

    Tomorrow, expect to see Klein predict that the Florida Marlins will win Sunday’s Super Bowl.

  • 53_3

    textee:
    .
    You’re dumber than a warm rock on a windowsill.
    .
    BTW, you wouldn’t happen to have $131 a month to kick in for the next four or five billion years, do you?
    .
    After all, you guys really should pay back what you took…

  • FlownOver

    53_3 –

    I’ve changed my mind. My crappy garage band henceforth will be known not as the Permanent Republican Majority, but instead as “The Knard Yoinkers.” Has quite a ring to it, don’t you think?
    Thank you. Thank you very much.

  • 53_3

    Wow! Yes!
    .
    Hell yes! Knard yoinkers! Go for it!

  • 53_3

    Send a link to an mp3 or something. I’d love to hear it!

  • Friar Tuck

    “Afghanistan: Russian for ‘Viet Nam’”
    .
    This has been another in a series of classic bumper-stickers from days gone by.

  • bobcn1

    Joe,
    I’m usually not much of a Thomas Friedman fan, but I thought his column on a ’5 State Solution’ column was compelling.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/opinion/28friedman.html?_r=1
    .
    As a starting point for negotiations, I think its very good. Obviously, the settlement problem will be the hardest thing to tackle, but it was going to be difficult anyway.
    .
    I’d love to hear what you think about it? I’d also love to hear if you know whether its being seriously considered by any of the folks in DC.

  • newfloridian

    FlownOver:

    Right now I’m holding up a cell phone in the darkness and screaming out Freebird!!!

  • http://www.hulagate.org hulagate

    “Eikenberry has always been one of the new breed of Army officers…”

    Ahem.

    HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW, YOU PENCIL PUSHING ANTI-PEACE PIMP?

    Or were you around to interview Ike, Grant, Bradley, and Washington too?

    What passes for flaming putz at Time hits another all Mother Jones low.

    Move On indeed.

  • http://www.hulagate.org hulagate

    “…the spectacularly awful performance of the United Nations…”

    Not news, since their Wilsonian inception.

  • formerlyjames

    bobcn1, you didn’t ask my opinion, but I am still not a Friedman fan. The imaginary letter from the tyrant camel jock who rules over the primitive hot bed of wahabism is ridiculous.

  • formerlyjames

    As ridiculous as hula.

  • http://www.hulagate.org hulagate

    For the record…

    http://www.nato.int/cv/dmilcom/eikenberry.html

    GO ARMY.

    BEAT NAVY.

  • formerlyjames

    hula, I did go read the bio of Eikenberry. Very impressive. And your point is? Beat Navy? Ok.

  • kathy

    Joe – I hope your right, and thanks for giving us a ray of hope.

  • kathy

    palinin: Afghanistan is achingly beautiful. I’d love a vacation home there.

  • 53_3

    “HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW, YOU PENCIL PUSHING ANTI-PEACE PIMP?”
    .
    I seem to remember a previous administration, posilutely stuffed, er, I mean, staffed, with individuals who had no experience serving our country themselves.
    .
    Hulu, stop scratching that keister. Your fingers stink…

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