[Mr Rogers]

I’m guessing this is the most accurate analysis:

“McKiernan warned last year that a satisfactory outcome would take a decade, perhaps 14 years. For his political bosses, that was way too long.

The changes in command underscore the impression that Obama, abandoning long-term nation-building goals, is looking for quick, minimalist results in Afghanistan, chiefly containing and deflating the insurgency. His aides don’t want the war dragging on when he stands for re-election in 2012.”

[Non-Sequitur]

“McKiernan warned last year that a satisfactory outcome would take a decade, perhaps 14 years. For his political bosses, that was way too long.

Similar to the kind of warnings Shinseki was giving Bush prior to the Iraq invasion, and look what happened to him.