Winning the War in Afghanistan

[Surferbeetle]

Second the attaboy for Eden..

A datapoint to consider, as we kick this can around, from the NATO website

The Parties to this Treaty reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments.

They are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. They seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area.

They are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. They therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty :

WSJ Opinon piece by Josef Joffe; Obama's Popularity Doesn't Mean Much Abroad

The point here is an old one, variously ascribed to Talleyrand, Palmerston or De Gaulle, about nations having everlasting interests rather than eternal friends or enemies. In today's language: interest beats affection any time. Mrs. Merkel surely knows how enthralled her country is with Mr. Obama. But that's not enough to place German soldiers in harm's way in Afghanistan, or to run up the national debt in a country that is traumatized by inflation.

[Ken White]

...WSJ Opinon piece by Josef Joffe; Obama's Popularity Doesn't Mean Much Abroad

That one in particular has some timeless truths that are too often forgotten. National interests trump all sorts of enmity or friendliness -- and righteousness...

[Surferbeetle]

From this weeks Economist: There was a lawyer, an engineer and a politician...

Why do different countries favour different professions? And why are some professions so well represented in politics? To find out, The Economist trawled through a sample of almost 5,000 politicians in “International Who’s Who”, a reference book, to examine their backgrounds.

As a side bar the term hydraulic empire might be of interest as well.