!["Article]("http://graphics8.nytimes.com/ads/fox/article-sponsor.gif"){kind=small}
![""]("http://graphics8.nytimes.com/adx/images/ADS/21/51/ad.215178/FMF_nyt_120x60_v04.gif")
It is crunch time on Afghanistan, so here’s my vote: We need to be thinking about how to reduce our footprint and our goals there in a responsible way, not dig in deeper. We simply do not have the Afghan partners, the NATO allies, the domestic support, the financial resources or the national interests to justify an enlarged and prolonged nation-building effort in Afghanistan.
![""]("http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/04/02/opinion/friedman-ts-190.jpg")
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
I base this conclusion on three princip