“McChrystal is serious”
At one of those infamous Washington cocktail parties, I ran into someone I know from Iraq. She’s a good soul, smart and dedicated. She’s been through the mill, with multiple tours in Iraq. “What’s next for you,” I asked? “Kabul,” she said. I told her I used to live there, and that I vastly prefer ...
At one of those infamous Washington cocktail parties, I ran into someone I know from Iraq. She's a good soul, smart and dedicated. She's been through the mill, with multiple tours in Iraq. "What's next for you," I asked?
"Kabul," she said.
At one of those infamous Washington cocktail parties, I ran into someone I know from Iraq. She’s a good soul, smart and dedicated. She’s been through the mill, with multiple tours in Iraq. “What’s next for you,” I asked?
“Kabul,” she said.
I told her I used to live there, and that I vastly prefer it to Baghdad. The summers can be hot, but no worse than Albuquerque, I think. (Not true of the south, but what are we trying to do in the Helmand Valley anyway?) She nodded and said, “That’s good, because I’m going for three to five years. That’s what McChrystal is asking for.”
Well, I nearly spilled my Trader Joe’s merlot. “Three to five years?” I said. What a far cry, I thought, from 2003, when Bremer’s little GOP beavers would come out to the Green Zone for three to five months, or even a few weeks.
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s what made me interested in taking the job. When I heard that, I said to myself, ‘Hey, this guy is serious.'”
unforth/flickr
More from Foreign Policy


Lessons for the Next War
Twelve experts weigh in on how to prevent, deter, and—if necessary—fight the next conflict.


It’s High Time to Prepare for Russia’s Collapse
Not planning for the possibility of disintegration betrays a dangerous lack of imagination.


Turkey Is Sending Cold War-Era Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
The artillery-fired cluster munitions could be lethal to Russian troops—and Ukrainian civilians.


Congrats, You’re a Member of Congress. Now Listen Up.
Some brief foreign-policy advice for the newest members of the U.S. legislature.