Some Good News About Afghanistan?

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The notion that Afghanistan could become Obama’s Vietnam has been picking up supporters lately—see this Newsweek cover, plus more airings here and here and here. In this month’s Washington Monthly, terrorism analyst and MoJo contributor Peter Bergen argues forcefully that there’s nothing to see here, folks: “Afghanistan will not be Obama’s Vietnam, nor will it be his Iraq. Rather, the renewed and better resourced American effort in Afghanistan will, in time, produce a relatively stable and prosperous Central Asian state.”

Bergen is no wide-eyed optimist: In the July/August 2007 issue of Mother Jones, he took stock of the many avoidable mistakes made by the Bush administration in Afghanistan that led to the “Iraqization” of the conflict there. So it’s notable that the Obama administration’s increased investment in Afghanistan has him feeling more upbeat about the country’s prospects. Check out the whole thing here.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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