NATO faces same problems in Afghanistan as Russia did in 1985

In 1985 the Soviet campaign in Afghanistan was at a turning point. Mikhail Gorbachev had just become Communist Party chief and was looking for an exit strategy. The Red Army wanted more troops. Both had lost faith in Babrak Karmal, the Afghan President whom they installed in 1979 but who was now weak, incompetent and confined mostly to his palace. Sound familiar? It is easy to overstate the parallels between the Soviet and NATO campaigns in Afghanistan. President Obama faces similar challenges as he prepares to decide–probably in the next month–how to avoid the same fate as the British in the 19th century and the Soviets in the 20th.