For a first glimpse at the much-anticipated strategic review of the war in Afghanistan by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, check out the Washington Post, the first to obtain and publish the 66-page document on its website. The scoop was the work of none other than Bob Woodward.

But this report ain’t exactly the Pentagon Papers. In fact, it covers pretty much exactly what has been leaking out for weeks about McChrystal’s belief that the U.S. and its allies will lose in Afghanistan without more troops.  

What's perhaps more interesting is that this weekend, during President Obama’s network TV media blitz on health care reform, he was asked about Afghanistan and there was some sense from the president that he is still keeping an open mind about — and a critical eye on — the request for troop increases.

As we commented earlier this month, it's “the best and the brightest all over again" in Afghanistan. And McChrystal is definitely part of that bright, shining, well-intentioned effort by generals to draw America deeper into a war that is unwinnable unless the goals of the conflict are far more clearly defined.

Obama will do well to pay attention to the lessons of history and empires in Afghanistan and the lessons of U.S. involvement in counterinsurgency in Vietnam, unless he wants to go down in history as the next LBJ.

The arrest in Colorado and New York of three men alleged to have been plotting the most ambitious terror strike in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001 is more evidence that a steady global pursuit of Al Qeada is underway. Last week, the U.S.-coordinated offensive on Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda-inspired movements targeted Somalia, Yemen and Indonesia. This week, the focus has shifted much closer to home.

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