Hope Springs Eternal

SYDNEY — Defending his troop surge strategy, President Barack Obama said Thursday that things in Afghanistan are getting better not worse and his plans to start withdrawing U.S. forces next year are on track.

"I would dispute the notion that it is not getting better" in Afghanistan, Obama told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. in the interview, conducted in the White House and broadcast in evening prime time in Australia.

"I do think that what we have seen is a blunting of the momentum of the Taliban, which had been building up in the year prior to me taking office," he said.

"We can't be there in perpetuity," he said. "Neither the American people nor the Australian people should be asked to carry that burden any longer than it needs to be carried."

Mr. Obama reiterated his plan to begin drawing down U.S. troops in 2011 and handing responsibility for security to domestic forces in Afghanistan.


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And disappointment is perennial.