Gates's Afghanistan Visit: The Latest Salvo in the Battle for Hearts and Minds at Home

This week's visit by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to Afghanistan was the latest move in a campaign aimed at managing the expectations of an American public divided and skeptical about the overall war effort.  

Those who paid attention to this trip will see it for what it's worth—part of an overall effort to shape how the American public views the war. What's up for grabs here is how we actually define victory or success in Afghanistan.  It's not simply about gauging U.S. progress in Afghanistan—it's actually defining what progress actually means.  

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This article was originally published in Foreign Policy.