Defense Secretary Robert Gates said U.S.-led forces must gain ground against insurgents in Afghanistan by next summer to avoid a public perception the war is unwinnable, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.
While noting that the Taliban militants would not be defeated within a year, Gates told the newspaper it was critical that the U.S. military and its allies show they were making progress in the Asian nation.
"After the Iraq (war) experience, nobody is prepared to have a long slog where it is not apparent we are making headway," Gates said in an interview. "The troops are tired. The American people are pretty tired," he said.
The people and Congress tired of Iraq, too, but President Bush stood fast with our troops who rose to the occasion to visibly win the war--without even the need to suspend disbelief.
With Congress and the public poised to run away from Afghanistan, will President Obama stand fast with his troops when the going gets tough?
To ask the question is to answer it, I'm afraid.
