Perhaps noting the trajectory of public opinion in Britain and Canada, the defense secretary tells LAT's Julian Barnes that the war effort in Afghanistan has about a year to show progress before the public deems it unwinnable:
"After the Iraq experience, nobody is prepared to have a long slog where it is not apparent we are making headway," Gates said in an interview. "The troops are tired; the American people are pretty tired."
P.S. Speaking of the impatient Brits, last night I caught a few minutes of Prime Minister's Questions in the British Parliament on C-SPAN (yes, another wild summer night), and Tory leader David Cameron was really letting Gordon Brown have it over management of the war (specifically, over whether Brown's government has been skimping on helicopter support for British troops)--and Cameron seemed to be getting the best of his beleaguered rival.
--Michael Crowley