Despite the general consensus that without a substantial surge the situation in Afghanistan cannot be turned around, there is far less agreement on how to handle President Karzai and his new government. Initially, after Karzai was ultimately declared the winner of a drawn-out election process that was marred by fraud, most experts agreed that the international community must increase the pressure and set concrete goals for the new president such as fighting corruption and good governance.

On his first official visit with Karzai in Kabul last month, Germany's new Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg delivered a strong message to the Afghan cabinet: "Just paying lip service isn't good enough: the Afghan government has to meet these targets." US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton relayed the same message at Karzai's inauguration last month and last week told the US Senate's Armed Services Committee: "We have real concerns about the influence of corrupt officials in the Afghan government, and we will continue to pursue them."