Rumsfeld may have a point in the short-term. The Obama administration has bungled nearly every foreign relationship the U.S. has, and Afghanistan is no exception.
Long-term, though....I don’t think Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt, and George C. Marshall all rolled into one could make a lasting diplomatic difference in Afghanistan. The corruption, the warlordism, the double-dealing, and the general chaos of Afghanistan have very deep roots.
And, under the circumstances, there was only one way to deal with the problem:
1. Identify the tribe/faction that was the enemy -- in our case, the Taliban.
2. Set a goal of wiping them out to the last man.
3. Enlist other tribes/factions in the enterprise, paying a bounty.
4. Ruthlessly mount a campaign of extermination.
5. When complete, leave.
6. Remind the remaining tribes/factions that, should they cooperate with another enemy of the U.S., we will return and they will be subject to the Taliban's fate.
I’m less concerned by Putin and Karzai than what our own government is doing to us right here and now.
Obammy’s media loves this foreign policy crap: takes the focus off the radical gay rights here, radical EPA, radical Obamacare
,radical spending, high taxes, IRS thuggery, and on and on. We’re being destroyed from WITHIN.
We’re watching our kids burn down our house while bitching about the neighbor’s grass.