madam president our commitment to a stable self-governing afghanistan capable of preventing the re-establishment of a terrorist sanctuary there is strong and long-term having been reasserted by both the eu and nato
however precisely because our commitment is a long-term one i would foresee at least three major challenges
the first is that the kind of state model we provide for afghanistan does not fit the afghan tradition
as the afghans have to adjust so too do we helping them to get an achievable state model combining modernity with the afghan tradition
the second challenge is that the security situation might well continue to require our international military involvement beyond twenty fourteen when the afghans will take over
we should be ready seriously to contemplate either extending the deadline or facing the consequences
finally the third challenge will be provided by the running-out of our public's patience which might force us to speed up our present timetable to avoid the alternative of simply declaring victory and going home
that would ruin our credibility
