The US President has to explain why he is sending more troops into Afghanistan and his Nato allies won't, says Irwin Stelzer

"Obama now has to explain to his pacifist Democratic Left why he is sending tens of thousands of troops into Afghanistan when his Nato allies, equally threatened – witness terrorist attacks on Madrid and London – won't. He must also explain his plan to spend billions on what looks very much like a 'surge' – a policy that dare not speak its name in the White House. Especially when that effort will shore up the regime of Hamid Karzai, who is stalling on the repeal of new laws that restrict women's rights every bit as much as did the Taliban zealots."