I am involved in the land of a leonine and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a wall of steel, confronting my soldier. You have brought only one son into the world, but everyone in this land can be called an Alexander.

Alexander the Great, in a letter to his mother on the insurgency he faced in Afghanistan (via newleft) (via unburyingthelead)

The Metrics That Matter

(...)American success in Afghanistan should be measured by “the number of Afghans shielded from violence,” not the number of enemy fighters killed (...)

Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, President Obama's nominee to be commander of American forces in Afghanistan, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

NYT 

via: Abu Muqawama