Scott McAdams on War & Peace

Define mission before sending troops to war

A: We need to aggressively pursue al-Qaida across the globe and in Afghanistan. At the same time, before I ever vote to send our troops into harm's way, I'll always ask for a definition of our mission. I'll ask the administration to explain what success looks like.

Q: Do you think it's time to pull out the troops or to set a date?

A: It's worth allowing Gen. Petraeus the opportunity to continue to crystallize our mission and our focus there.