In an effort to shore up sagging support for the war effort in Afghanistan, General Petraeus has embarked on a media blitz to articulate the realistic aims of the U.S. military. On Meet the Press, the General was bombarded by questions from David Gregory on what, exactly, success will or should look like in a nation that's historically been resistant to outsiders.

Petraeus tellingly responded: "At the end of the day, it’s not about their embrace of us, it’s not about us winning hearts and minds, it’s about the Afghan government winning hearts and minds. This isn’t to say that there is any kind of objective of turning Afghanistan into Switzerland in three to five years or less. Afghan good enough is good enough."

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Erik Hayden