Good Enough?

Just finished "The Junior Officers' Reading Club," a young Brit officer's impressionistic recounting of Afghan combat. I came away, as I usually do from these types of memories, mightily impressed with the soldiers, but scratching my head about the mission.

Today, Senators grilled Ryan Crocker, the former Iraq Ambassador who President Obama has tapped to hold the same post in Afghanistan. What is the goal, he was asked.

“I was not among those who have ever used the word ‘winning’ or ‘victory,’” Crocker replied. His alternative description of success: “Good-enough governance: Governance that is good enough to ensure that the country doesn’t degenerate back into a safe haven for al-Qaeda.”

Refreshingly honest ... and depressing.