Katie Couric's Notebook: Afghanistan
As the Russians learned in Afghanistan, and the British before them, persuading tribal factions in remote and mountainous terrain to lay down their weapons is a Sisyphean task.
Now, the Obama administration hopes that, with the right incentives, insurgents will abandon alliances with al Qaeda and the Taliban.
And then With Afghanistan stabilized, the military could shift its focus to neighboring Pakistan, where the bad guys are gaining strength in border areas.
Time columnist Joe Klein called this new approach, "impossible … but unavoidable."
To abandon both of these countries to al Qaeda is unthinkable. But history has shown Afghanistan cannot be easily won or won over.
The age of empire is long gone. Afghanistan will not be America's graveyard. However, if this latest plan fails, it could be the next Vietnam.
That's a page from my notebook.