War Effort

At a time when President Obama needs help tackling skepticism in Pakistan over his new plan to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda, a valuable ally here is battling for political survival. Just 15 months into his term, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is withering under pressure from the country's military, opposition parties and vocal media critics. Zardari has proved a reliable U.S. partner, even on actions that are unpopular with the Pakistani public, such as the CIA's campaign of airstrikes targeting Al Qaeda leaders and the Taliban in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.

The soldiers' names were first nailed to Sullivan's lampposts in 2004, not long after the town watched a seemingly swift victory in Afghanistan on TV and before the bloodshed in Iraq demanded more and more troops. But as images of quick victories faded and the deployments kept coming, the service members' parents stubbornly kept up the tradition. And the young people kept volunteering in Sullivan, population 4,400 -- a town that has done more than its share for the war effort. More than 100 residents have served abroad.

George W. Bush referred to himself as a "war president," putting himself in the company of American leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The conflicts overseen by these men were vastly different in nature, but one fundamental reality -- the terrible sacrifices made by those who fought in them -- remains the same. As we honor the fallen this Memorial Day, their sacrifices remind us not only of lives lost but of the causes for which they died.

President Obama and his aides continue to impress with their handling of Afghanistan. Not only have they approved a major troop increase and a de facto commitment to nation-building, but now they have shifted personnel to make the most effective use of the added resources and turn around a failing war effort. The big news is that Army Gen. David D. McKiernan is out after just 11 months as the top commander. He will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

A day after President Obama ordered additional soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan, the top U.S. commander there said Wednesday that he may need still more troops in coming months to bolster an intensified war effort that could last as long as five more years. Army Gen. David D. McKiernan plans to use the 17,000 soldiers and Marines Obama authorized to try to break an impasse in fighting with the Taliban in the southern part of the country.

NEW ORLEANS -- What a difference a few decades can make. Hollywood has taken on a leading role in the Iraq war debate, lending its political voice against the invasion and offering up any number of films examining the war's personal costs. But as a new show at the National World War II Museum makes clear, the relationship between the movie business and international armed conflict hasn't always been so polarized.

An official panel of inquiry found Wednesday that Israel's failure to win the 2006 war in Lebanon stemmed from "flawed conduct" and "serious failings" by its political and military leadership, but concluded that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acted in what he thought was the country's best interest. The final report on the panel's 16-month investigation casts no personal blame on any leader. Critics of the embattled prime minister said that made it less likely he would soon be forced to resign.

Yielding to fierce diplomatic and political pressure, congressional sponsors of an Armenian genocide resolution abruptly put off a vote on the measure Thursday and defused a mounting confrontation with Turkey that was threatening to hamper the U.S. war effort in Iraq. The decision, a swift reversal for the long-debated resolution, disappointed supporters who two weeks ago were optimistic that the House would approve it.

The United States seems to be missing some guns in Iraq. Somehow, the U.S. military has lost track of 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 80,000 pistols that were supposedly delivered from our caches to Iraqi security forces. It was classic bureaucratic bungling, the Government Accountability Office concluded last month in a report criticizing the Pentagon's failure to keep proper records and track weapons flows.

As the war in Iraq enters its fifth year, President Bush called anew Monday for patience as beefed-up U.S. forces try to secure Baghdad. But the president faced increasing difficulty on Capitol Hill, where a proposal to set a timeline for withdrawing U.S. forces is gaining momentum. Bush marked the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion with brief remarks at the White House, standing in front of flagpoles bearing ribbons commemorating famous American battles.