U.S. troops carry a wounded Afghan National Army soldier to a U.S. Army MEDEVAC helicopter in Qandahar, Afghanistan. (PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Sullivan/GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Nearly nine years into the war in Afghanistan... and it seems there are more questions than ever about what exactly the U.S. is doing over there.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Afghanistan to lead the American delegation to the Kabul Conference.

The Afghan government is supposed to talk at this international meeting about how it will tackle a deteriorating security situation and crack down on corruption.

But even as the U.S. has added tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan - last month was the deadliest since the start of the war for international forces. 103 coalition troops were killed, and militants keep attacking every day.

The Obama administration says it will review its Afghan strategy later this year; but there are growing concerns from all corners about where we're headed.

Democratic Senator John Kerry says it's not clear the administration has a solid strategy; and Republican Senator Richard Lugar is criticizing "a lack of clarity" about U.S. goals in Afghanistan. Even the administration's point man for Afghanistan and Pakistan - Richard Holbrooke - acknowledges things are not working out as planned.

Meanwhile a record number of U.S. soldiers killed themselves last month. The Army says 32 soldiers committed suicide in June - the highest in any month since the Vietnam War. Seven of those soldiers were on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army officials say they're not sure what's behind the spike in suicides.

The U.S. is approaching insolvency, yet we continue to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into a nine-year-old war, and no one seems to have a real good explanation of why we continue.

Here’s my question to you: Is the war in Afghanistan really worth it?

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(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The spotlight is back on the war in Afghanistan. Big time.

In the wake of the very public dismissal of General Stanley McChrystal and renewed talk of a withdrawal date - there's lots of debate over what is now this country's longest war.

And it isn't pretty.

As the U.S. continues to escalate troop levels, top officials are warning of a long road ahead.

CIA Director Leon Panetta says the Afghanistan war has "serious problems." He says progress is being made, but the fight is harder and slower than anyone anticipated. Panetta cites problems with the government, corruption, drug trafficking and the Taliban insurgency.

Speaking of corruption, The Wall Street Journal reports American investigators believe top Afghan officials have been flying more than $3 billion in U.S. aid and drug money to financial havens for 3 years.

That would be our tax dollars.

The Journal says President Hamid Karzai's brother, long suspected of being deeply involved in Afghanistan's drug trade, is one of the officials in question. What are we doing?

President Obama has said U.S. troops would start pulling out in July 2011... although he seems to be hedging on that lately.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is warning the U.S. exit strategy "provides a mechanism for failure." He says the public needs to be prepared for a long struggle.

Here’s my question to you: Is success possible in Afghanistan?

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(PHOTO CREDIT: TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The U.S. war in Afghanistan by some counts is now the longest war in American history.

It's been 104 months since October 2001 and the start of a hugely popular mission in the aftermath of 9/11.

That's longer than World War II. And that's longer than Vietnam - it was 103 months from the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution to the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops there.

It's worth noting some insist that Vietnam is still the longer war; that American servicemen were taking casualties there as early as 1961 - long before the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.

At first, Afghanistan seemed like a cake walk. Within months, the U.S. had driven the Taliban from the capital city of Kabul. And Kandahar, the headquarters of the terrorist group, was in U.S. sights. In fact, on the one-year anniversary - then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said: "The Taliban are gone. The Al Qaeda are gone."

But instead of finishing the job in Afghanistan we invaded Iraq and now nine years later the Taliban seem more dangerous than ever. President Obama recently ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the war in Afghanistan.

Of course, sadly, that means the deaths of U.S. service members continue... recently passing the 1,000 mark. Yesterday was the deadliest day for coalition forces in Afghanistan this year.

But warfare has changed a lot, and the military death toll in Afghanistan is nowhere near the 58,000 U.S. troops lost in Vietnam or the 400,000 who lost their lives in World War II.

Here’s my question to you: Technically the war in Afghanistan is now America's longest. Has it been worth it?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

With friends like Hamid Karzai, who needs enemies?

Here's what America's alleged ally - the president of Afghanistan - has been up to lately...
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/06/art.karzai.jpg caption="Afghan President Hamid Karzai (R) speaks with visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad moments before a joint press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul on March 10, 2010."]

• First - he invited Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to hang out with him in Kabul

• Then Karzai blamed the fraud in Afghanistan's elections on foreigners who he says wanted a "puppet government" in his country.

• This past weekend, Karzai reportedly threatened to quit the political process and join the Taliban if he kept coming under "foreign pressure" to reform
• Lastly - our good friend told a group of tribal leaders that the U.S.-led alliance won't move against Taliban fighters in Kandahar quote "until you say we can."

Enough already - the United States has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into Afghanistan - propping up Karzai's government - since the 2001 invasion... not to mention American lives. For what?

Tom Friedman recently wrote in his New York Times column when you can steal an election - like Karzai did - you can steal anything. He asks how the U.S. can rebuild Afghanistan while relying on a corrupt partner like Karzai.

Friedman worries that "once we clear, hold and build Afghanistan for him, Karzai is going to break our hearts." If that happens, it won't be the first heart to be broken in that cesspool of a civilization.

Meanwhile this afternoon, the White House indicated it may have finally had enough... saying it could cancel Karzai's upcoming U.S. visit if he keeps making "troubling and untruthful remarks."

Here’s my question to you: What should U.S. policy be when it comes to Afghanistan?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

When it comes to Afghanistan, President Obama better be right. After months of meetings and criticism that he was "dithering" and "weak" on Afghanistan - he finally made what may be the most important decision of his presidency.

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/12/02/art.obama.w.pt.gi.jpg caption="President Obama spoke at West Point last night. He laid out his plan for an increase of 30,000 troops in efforts to eventually begin to transition U.S. forces out of Afghanistan starting in July 2011."]

But the announcement to deploy 30,000 additional troops is cloaked in contradiction. We're going to rush more troops in so we can begin to rush them out in 18 months. The Taliban and al Qaeda will probably make a note of this timetable.

You don't suppose the decision to withdraw in July of 2011 would have anything to do with the President's 2012 re-election campaign do you?

There was no mention of how we're going to pay for this. The 30,000 additional troops will cost an additional $30 billion in the first year.

Where's that money going to come from? Some Democrats are calling for a so-called "war surtax." But With a fragile U.S. economy, an unemployment rate topping 10-percent, and a costly health care reform plan on the table - there may not be much appetite for that.

Meanwhile - a new USA Today/Gallup poll suggests the American public has just about gotten its belly full of Afghanistan. Only 35-percent approve of what President Obama is doing there. That's down from 49-percent in September and 56-percent in July. 55-percent disapprove… not the kind of numbers that are likely to lead to a second term. Can you spell Vietnam?

Here’s my question to you: How optimistic are you about success in Afghanistan?

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[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/19/art.afghan.gi1018.jpg caption="U.S. army in Afghanistan."]

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Still no decision from Pres. Obama on Afghanistan, despite eight formal meetings that have consumed more than 20 hours.

A lot of people are asking what's taking the president so long. His own press corps used the first question on his Asia trip to ask "what piece of information" he's still waiting for to make the call on this war, now in its ninth year.

The president got a little testy and said the people involved in Afghanistan "recognize the gravity of the situation and recognize the importance of us getting this right." He says the decision will come "soon."

The issue is making the president look weak and indecisive. Former V.P. Cheney has accused Pres. Obama of "dithering”. Mitt Romney says Mr. Obama "can't make up his mind".

Meanwhile, with record violence in Afghanistan, the Army says morale among the troops has fallen... with a lot of soldiers struggling with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. There is a shortage of mental health workers; there were only 43 in Afghanistan at the time of the Army survey.

And most sadly, the Army says the number of suicides among active-duty troops is on track to reach a new high this year.

Is all of this lost on the Commander in Chief?

Here's the question: When it comes to Afghanistan, are you tired of waiting for a decision from President Obama?

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