A Different Kind of Surge in Afghanistan

At the Vice-Presidential debate last week, Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin sparred over whether the "surge" strategy used in Iraq could be adeptly applied to Afghanistan.  Today, the UN's top man in the war-torn country weighed in, arguing that it's more than a troop surge that we need.

"I've always said to those that talk about the military surge...what we need most of all is a political surge, more political energy," Kai Eide, the U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, told a news conference in Kabul.

"We all know that we cannot win it militarily. It has to be won through political means. That means political engagement."

More troops might still be necessary, of course, and I'll leave it to the military policy wonks to determine whether and how to draw from the "surge" in Iraq.  But there's no disputing that, as I highlighted before, political reconciliation is the only way to move the ball forward.