Obama's Afghanistan Policy: The Four Questions
To gaze in one's own navel: I said earlier I'd be listening to Obama's Af-Pak speech for answers to four questions, like this was Passover or something. So what about those answers?
1. Will Obama give an exit strategy, an endpoint — if not necessarily a date — for when the mission is accomplished?
Answer: No. Saying you'll "disrupt, dismantle and defeat" al-Qaeda is about the furthest thing from an endpoint as could be. What does it mean?
2. Will Obama say how we’ll know if his strategy is working or failing, and if so, how will he report it to Congress?
Answer: There was a lot of talk of benchmarks for Af-Pak strategy in the speech, where none before have existed. Check out Matthew Yglesias for more on that. And while this is more a promise than a plan, here's what Obama said:
