Perhaps the most notable aspect of President Obama's sneak visit to Afghanistan was its transparency. Every aspect of the trip indicates it was a campaign function, building the Obama brand. The timing was blatant.  The anniversary of Osama kill for starters. But the entire Kabul visit was held at crazy hours of the early morning. Transparently, it was timed for a prime time speech to the nation with a suitably patriotic military backdrop and setting. Cheers from the assembled troops. No spontaneous interaction with the troops, of course. Too risky. The agreement, whose early morning signing served as a pretext for the visit, is maddeningly vague, but commits the US to an additional decade of involvement. Details to be figured out later. It almost screams photo-op. The taxpayer-funded ploy will work, at least with a big swath of the population. The images generated will linger in their minds, Obama the warrior, the Osama avenger. But to the minority who pay attention and think,...(Read Full Post)