AFGHAN FUTURE - AT 6:34 A.M. ET:  More and more, the U.S. owns the war in Afghanistan, as our forces grow stronger and NATO acts like, well, NATO.  Washington Post:

After years of often testy cooperation with NATO and resentment over unequal burden-sharing, the United States is taking unabashed ownership of the Afghan war.

President Obama's decision to deploy an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan this year will bring the number of foreign troops there to nearly 90,000, more than two-thirds of them Americans. Although many will technically report to NATO commanders, the U.S. force will increasingly be in charge.

COMMENT:  We hope the president's strategy is successful and leads to victory, not simply an "exit strategy."  This is a major test for Mr. Obama, who said repeatedly during his campaign that Afghanistan was the war we should be emphasizing. 

Expect to see the "anti-war" movement replay the Iraq script during the next year.  They will call Afghanistan the "new Vietnam."  That campaign is already underway.  And we reported below, at 6:01 a.m., that the left wing of the Democratic Party wants the defense budget cut.

Incredible, but Iraq is now the good, successful war, rarely mentioned.  Afghanistan may make Iraq look easy.

March 26, 2009