Voters attention

Voters may not be paying much attention to Afghanistan right now, but Congress is growing increasingly uneasy, says Jessica Mathews, the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think-tank. Lawmakers worry that the costs of America’s huge and open-ended commitment may outweigh its benefits. Counter-insurgency campaigns typically take many years, cost a fortune in blood and treasure and end in failure. The people who know most about Afghanistan are often the gloomiest. “Is Nation-Building Doomed?” asks Foreign Affairs. “Is It Worth It?” wonders the American Interest. Mr Biddle, who wrote the article in the American Interest, thinks the war is worth fighting, but only barely. The costs will be high, the outcome uncertain. Mr Obama’s strategy promises more bloodshed in the short run in exchange for a chance of stability in the long term. That is hardly a combination that will appeal to voters, so it will be hard to sustain political support for it for long enough to make it work.