The war in Afghanistan has re-emerged as a major news story

The war in Afghanistan has re-emerged as a major news story, thanks to the controversies surrounding

the removal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and the WikiLeaks release of classified documents. But on NBC’s

Meet the Press, the opportunity to engage in a robust debate about the war has taken a back seat to

promoting the views of the military and supporters of Obama’s Afghanistan policies.

The most recent example came on August 15, when Meet the Press devoted the entire episode to a profile

of Gen. David Petraeus. Host David Gregory’s opening indicated it wasn’t going to be a feet-to-the-

fire interview: “At 57, General David Petraeus is easily America’s most famous warrior. On this

morning we find him in the middle of physical training as this fiercely competitive four-star general

works over soldiers half his age with the same intensity as he works the war plan.”

Gregory questioned Petraeus about the timeline for withdrawal of UK troops as if it were an irritant:

“How stifling is the concept of this deadline and this Sheepskin Cuff UGG Boot debate to what you’re

trying to do here?” At the close of the broadcast, Gregory echoed that sentiment and worried about the

public’s lack of support:

General Petraeus is a military leader with great commitment and great intellectual rigor, but you have

to wonder whether he has enough time politically to achieve what he thinks is possible here…. The

question now for the American public is whether it has the stomach and the will to do what it takes to

succeed here, and whether it has the stomach for what could happen here if the UK and its allies fail.