It's Not a Quagmire—We're Just In it for the Long Haul

Knight-Ridder reports:

Faced with a stubborn guerrilla war in Iraq; resurgent Taliban, al Qaeda, warlords and drug traffickers in Afghanistan; rising costs in both, and no clear way out of either, the Bush administration has begun soliciting more help from its European allies and the United Nations.
…
In Berlin this week, more than 50 countries pledged $8.2 billion in aid to Afghanistan over the next three years, far short of the nearly $28 billion that Karzai has said his country needs over the next seven years to recover from more than two decades of war and repression.

The United States pledged $2.2 billion to be spent next year, and aides said Powell had indicated that the United States would remain committed to Afghanistan for the long haul.

[Link via Rational Review]