In my view, what Mr zinni has said or expressed his approach regarding US ongoing war in Afghanistan is not a new thing, the hard-power doctrine-(which yet seems to be the ideal thinking core of some policy strategists)-still dominates in the hardliners' policy theme,but Mrs Clinton's positive drive and initiative on the foreign policy side undoubtedly seems to have been a good policy departure that the US administration needs in real terms.

sorry to those folks who tuned in to Montel's great show specifically for this. We had some miscommunication on my land line phone number and we weren't able to make this connection work today.

We agreed that we'd try and redo this on another day.

Steve Clemons

William Pfaff has a good piece on Afghanistan, citing some of the usual suspects from the foreign policy mob, who say "there is no alternative to victory.” They also said that all bets were off if there were a fraudulent election, which had already become obvious as they spoke. The conclusion seems to be that the US is losing the battle and its only major Afghan ally is an illegitimate, corrupt government. How about them apples?
http://www.williampfaff.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=426

So now the foreign policy mob really has its teat in the ringer. Let's hope the ringer squeezes really hard and makes them squeal really loud. They need to be held accountable. They have had their way far too long, pursuing unspoken ambitions for questionable motives.

It's time for a major purge of the foreign policy community and the rise of a new breed willing to openly define America's national interests and to recognize the interests of other nations as legitimate. An honest reckoning of America's "vital strategic interests" would lead to the unavoidable conclusion that all this military adventurism is folly. It would lead to a major cut in "defense" funding, freeing up money for health care and other programs, and help restore America's standing in the world.