What he said in this article in Rolling Stone magazine may get him fired, but the real question is whether or not General McChrystal could have won the war with the resources given him by President Obama, and under the conditions set by the President, especially the withdrawal deadline. The other pertinent question is asked by Tom Friedman in his column on the subject. Essentially, if we go all out to win in Afghanistan, what are we winning? In Iraq, if we win, we get a functioning Arab Muslim democracy in the heart of the Arab Muslim world. If we win in Afghanistan, we get a barely functioning, still tribal, still primitive backwater.

Max Boot thinks the war can still be won.

Doris Kearns Goodwin wonders what Lincoln would do, while another historian ponders what Roosevelt and Truman did with wayward generals.

The editors at The Weekly Standard want the President to use this crisis to change course on Afghanistan toward a path to victory (which would include a promise to stay as long as it takes, which I believe is the one thing President Obama will not do).

On a different subject, Jeff Jacoby points out there is no such thing as a "good" communist.

Fred Barnes looks at a new poll of "Wal-Mart moms" which shows more trouble for the Democrats.