A new Senate report says billions of dollars in aid go to waste in Afghanistan, where the president is about to make a decision about troop levels. But as Andrew J. Bacevich argues, the question is a distraction from a far more fundamental choice.Once the capital of a nation defined by inalienable rights; government of, by, and for the people; Fourteen Points; Four Freedoms; and “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!,” Washington is today preoccupied with Anthony Weiner’s crotch and parsing Sarah Palin’s interpretation of Paul Revere’s ride as a defense of the Second Amendment. What used to be known as the people’s business is today becoming indistinguishable from farce. Whether our ruling class possesses the ability even to identify the matters deserving the attention of senior policymakers has become an open question.

Afghanistan: Obama’s Moment of Decision – The Daily Beast

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