The Washington Post's Walter Pincus writes (8/9/09) (under the headline "Analysts Expect Long-Term, Costly U.S. Campaign in Afghanistan") that "military experts are warning that the United States is taking on security and political commitments that will last at least a decade and a cost that will probably eclipse that of the Iraq War."

What follows is about what you'd expect: Various pro-war analysts giving their views on how best to wage war there. But perhaps the most telling part comes early on, when Pincus writes: "Military experts insist that the additional resources are necessary. But many, including some advising [Gen. Stanley A.]  McChrystal, say they fear the public has not been made aware of the significant commitments that come with Washington's new policies."

The public is aware of the Afghan War, of course--and they don't like it, according to the most recent polls. Thus, official Washington must present escalation of that war as a simple matter of fact--not something the public can debate or really do anything about. It's rather difficult to imagine the Post publishing a piece detailing the arguments of those opposed to escalating the war in Afghanistan; there is a more pressing need for the public to be "made aware" of the need for escalation.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 10th, 2009 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Media Criticism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.