Mission creep is again at hand in Afghanistan

"The U.S. military's top uniformed officer expressed concern Sunday about eroding public support for the war in Afghanistan and said the country remains vulnerable to being taken over again by extremist forces.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said President Barack Obama's new strategy for defeating the Taliban and al-Qaida was a work in progress as more U.S. troops are put in place."

Here's a hint: the phrase "work in progress" means mission creep is again at work in Afghanistan.

The initial American invasion was fully justified. Afghanistan's Taliban regime had provided a base for the fanatics who planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks.

The American military destroyed that base, while doing heavy damage to the regime. At that point, mission creep took over, and the U.S. and its allies took up the "nation building" phase. We're still engaged in that mission, but be alert for the next effort by the Pentagon's phrase makers.

It isn't easy to make a nation out of people who are still killing each other over events that took place in the 7th Century.