Fred Hiatt is the quiet little monster that subverts the heart of the American spirit.

[phantom power]

Charles Pierce: go read him:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/obama-retreat-from-afghanistan-052814

Before beginning, we should keep a few numbers in mind: 2232 Americans killed, 20,000 local civilians killed, $10.1 million dollars an hour. Those are the highlights of the butcher's bill paid by the United States since it launched the war on Afghanistan in 2001. Keep those numbers in mind when you read things like this.

The Afghan decision would be understandable had Mr. Obama's previous choices proved out. But what's remarkable is that the results also have been consistent - consistently bad. Iraq has slid into something close to civil war, with al-Qaeda retaking territory that U.S. Marines once died to liberate. In Syria, al-Qaeda has carved out safe zones that senior U.S. officials warn will be used as staging grounds for attacks against Europe and the United States. Libya is falling apart, with Islamists, secularists, military and other factions battling for control

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Here we must note that there were people predicting that precisely what would happen in Iraq, and they were laughed into submission by a lot of the same geopolitical fantasts and think-tank cowboys who populate Fred Hiatt's BlackBerry, not all of whom are named Kagan. As to the other places, exactly how much blood and treasure does Hiatt think we should spend to transform Syria, or stabilize Libya? More than 2232 lives? More than 20,000 civilians? More than $10 million an hour? Alas, he's not saying.

For years the United States promised to be a partner to a democratic Afghanistan, to help ensure that girls can keep going to school and to lock in the gains that have been won at such a high price by U.S. and other NATO troops. Mr. Obama's implicit message Tuesday was: "Not so much." If al-Qaeda can wait out the United States, it may get another chance. If Afghans have thrown their lot in with the Americans, they will be left on their own.

There is no "democratic Afghanistan." There is a deeply corrupt central government. There are the Taliban and its allies. And there is an unruly gang of local warlords whom we have bought off or otherwise bribed to stay on our side. It has been 13 years. If, after 2232 dead and at a cost of $10 million an hour, there still is no "democratic Afghanistan" to be found, whose fault is that? What are the magic numbers? Thirty years? Four thousand dead? Fifty thousand civilians? Fifty million an hour? What is the size of the butcher's bill that would force Fred Hiatt to abandon his imperial delusions and admit that, well, hell, we did our damndest? Alas, he's not saying.

"Ending wars." "Nation-building at home." The "pivot to Asia." These are popular and attractive slogans, and they make a lot of sense in the abstract. But they don't necessarily bring peace to a dangerous world, and a president can't always safely choose which dangers he would rather confront.

For Fred Hiatt, after 2232 American dead, and 20,000 civilian casualties, and $10 million an hour for 13 years, "ending wars" is a slogan, but ratcheting up the body count and the balance sheet in defense of an armed banality like "bringing peace to a dangerous world" is profound realpolitik. For Fred Hiatt, rebuilding this country is an abstraction, but turning Afghanistan into Vermont is firmly grounded in reality. Fred Hiatt is the quiet little monster that subverts the heart of the American spirit.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/obama-retreat-from-afghanistan-052814