45 years ago, CBS broadcast a National Drivers Test that TIME said “educated” the American public. We believe there ought to be such a one-hour educational program on Afghanistan, updated for how TV operates today. The program would feature President Obama and General David Petraeus. They would have one hour to explain the following, none of which we know today:

(a) what are the vital national interests of the US that have us spending blood and treasure in a remote, geographically difficult, primitive tribal land that al Qaeda has largely abandoned for Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, etc?
(b) what will define an American victory in an Afghanistan war, how long will it take, and what will it cost?
(c) why should the American public (let alone an unhappy volunteer fighting force) put up with Rules of Engagement that cause many American lives to be unnecessarily forfeited?

(Maybe they could also explain why it makes sense for any American to be in harm’s way in a country where things like this happen.) At the conclusion of the hour Americans would vote just like they do on American Idol and similar shows. If Obama and Petraeus can’t be clear, concise and convincing, we should declare victory and get out.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 2:46 pm and is filed under Democrats, General, MSM, Religion, Republicans, War. 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.