Reply #20: What was interesting was that not one member of the panel (even

[beachmom]

the two anti-war voices) said we should immediately withdraw. That is simply not an option. That is the position of the anti-war groups who think such a complex issue can be put into a neat box of OUT NOW.

The other interesting thing Bacevich said was that even if we got Afghanistan 100% right, Pakistan is still a mess, so a perfect Afghanistan solves nothing.

The concept I got out of the hearings was that "The Long War" is just not going to be an option for the U.S. long term. And, that with all of the changes the Obama Administration has implemented, they still seem to be buying into the Bush concept that fighting the GWOT (even with the phrase gone) amounts to invading, occupying, and transforming countries in the Greater Middle East. I think Bacevich is correct, but I also have a feeling that Obama, being a pragmatist, is going to slowly transition the missions to more and more modest goals.