Afghanistan to take longer--Will Obama give US time to win?

Times:

The new American-led surge in Afghanistan will take longer to fight the insurgency than a similar injection of force in Iraq three years ago when violence fell sharply within months, the top US general in the region told The Times.

General David Petraeus, the head of Central Command, also warned that the fight in Helmand province, Afghanistan, where British and US forces are based, as well other areas, would become even tougher before the situation improved.

Frontline offensives will run alongside initiatives to reach out to Taleban elements. When the time was right, General Petraeus said, there was a possibility that Afghan officials would hold reconciliation talks with senior Taleban and other insurgent leaders, perhaps also involving Pakistan.

In 2005, the commander predicted that Afghanistan would be the longest campaign in the war on terror. “That turned out to be fairly prophetic,” he said, speaking at his headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

“It will get harder before it gets easier and that will result from offensive operations intended in Helmand [province] and others to take away Taleban sanctuaries and safe havens.”

The first two Marine battalions, which are part of a surge of 30,000 extra US troops announced by President Obama last month, are already on the ground in Helmand and an Army battalion is in the process of deploying. The majority of US troops are due to be in place by the end of August, along with several thousand extra soldiers from other countries, including Britain.

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The problem is the Democrats lack of strategic patience. They showed the same lack in Iraq, some pronouncing the war lost before the surge forces were all deployed. In Afghanistan, Obama has already set an unrealistic withdrawal date in an attempt to appease the kook base of the Democrat party. I suspect that unrealistic schedule will probably become an issue in the 2010 election, and along with the administration's terrorist rights lawfare policies.