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Petraeus determined, Pentagon reports some progress

With David Petraeus in Paris vaunting the necessity of success in Afghanistan, the Pentagon has just issued a nuanced account of where things stood on September 30.

The Pentagon:

“Progress across the country remains uneven, with modest gains in security, governance, and development in operational priority areas. The deliberate application of our strategy is beginning to have cumulative effects and security is slowly beginning to expand. Although significant challenges exist, some signs of progress are evident.”

General Petraeus:

“Il est vital que l’Afghanistan ne redevienne jamais plus un sanctuaire pour les extrémistes”, a-t-il résumé lors d’une conférence à Sciences-Po Paris. La seule façon d’atteindre cet objectif est, selon lui, “d’aider les Afghans à assurer leur sécurité eux-mêmes”.

Or, for those without enough French to challenge my translation:  “It is vital that Afghanistan never again become a sanctuary for extremists,” he said in a lecture at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, “the only way of achieving this objective is to help the Afghans to ensure their own security.”

Fool me once…

The New York Times reports this morning that the supposed Taliban commander reported to have been in talks with the Coalition and the Afghan government was in fact an impostor.

Embarrassing as it is to be snookered even once, it would be much worse if it happens again.  Maybe the demand for cash should have aroused more suspicion even the first time around.  Would a genuine Taliban representative really require payment?