Petraeus Interviewed in Foreign Policy

The general has his orders, and he's paid to carry them out to the best of his abilities. However, reading this interview doesn't satisfy some of the basic questions. The Pakistan question for example:

Patraeus: ... Progress there will require a sustained, substantial commitment. That commitment needs to be extended to Pakistan as well, though Pakistan does have large, well-developed security institutions and its leaders are determined to employ their own forces in dealing with the significant extremist challenges that threaten their country.

Now that's a quick summary of things. Does he mean nation build Pakistan? Does he really trust that its security institutions and leaders are determined to deal with extremist challenges? That last statement is almost laughable.

And then the million dollar question:

DP: I didn’t say it could be. I said it would be. My assessment was that Afghanistan was going to be the longest campaign of the long war. And I think that assessment has been confirmed by events in Afghanistan in recent months.

FP: Just how long did you have in mind?

DP: Those are predictions one doesn’t hazard.

Let's see. Clear goals? No. Time frame: Won't hazard a guess. Exit Strategy: Nada. They should start working on these if they still expect support and funding for the campaign.