Video: Jon Stewart Daily Show covers the mess of Afghanistan

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.  AP Photo Manish Swarup

In the video below Jon Stewart provides a humorous glance at a very serious story for the United States.  The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate to the point that the Taliban now control much of the country. 

The amount of problems with the U.S. presences in Afghanistan are too numerous to list and explain.  Some of these problems include allegations of fraud in the recent election for President, an increasing reluctance for other countries to commit troops to the country, an increasing amount of violence within the country, an opium trade which financially supports the Taliban, and finally a general loss of the "hearts and minds" of the Afghan people.  The situation is so bad that the U.S. Generals are expected to ask for about 40,000 more troops to secure the country.

In deciding whether to approve the troop increase President Obama must decide if this war is winnable.  As is noted in the comedic video below many others have failed in their pursuit to tame Afghanistan including the British empire and the Soviet Union.  The country's geography, extreme religious factions, and political structure all make it very difficult for a foreign power to control.