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BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: “Progress comes slowly and at the very high-priced lives of our men and women in uniform. In many places the gains we’ve made are still fragile and reversible. But there is no question we are clearing more areas from the Taliban control.  More Afghans are reclaiming their communities.” (KOVR)

President Obama says the U.S. is on the right track in Afghanistan.

Summarizing a one-year review released Thursday - Mr. Obama says American troops are still on schedule to begin withdrawing in July of 2011 -- with plans to turn over full control to the Afghan government by 2014.  

But The Economist notes, this review is incomplete at best, regardless of the message.

“On the military side, the mood has become quite upbeat. With nearly 150,000 coalition troops now in Afghanistan, two-thirds of them American, and a big increase in funding for development, it would be surprising if some gains were not being made.”

While the review was intended to paint a picture of present-day policy in Afghanistan -- its emphasis on the importance of cooperation from neighboring Pakistan is snagging headlines -- and casting a shadow over the more optimistic official assessment. In The Huffington Post, foreign policy writer Robert Naiman calls the review a - quote - “damning indictment of U.S. foreign policy.”

“Current U.S. policy in Afghanistan is premised on a belief that Pakistan’s relationship to Afghanistan’s insurgencies will change, when there is no reason to believe that it will change, absent a change in U.S. policy to accommodate Pakistan’s interests.”

U.S. officials have both privately and publicly charged Pakistan with playing both sides -- accepting military and humanitarian aid from the U.S., while also working with the Taliban.

Compare that pessimism to the State Department’s assessment.

SEC. OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: “We will not, in fact, we dare not repeat history. We will continue to support the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan as they work to build their future, one that is secure, prosperous, and free, and does not pose a threat to the people of the United States."

Fox News’ Shepard Smith concludes -- bottom line: U.S. strategy is NOT working. But contributor Judith Miller reminds him -- backers like Senator Joe Lieberman are urging -quote- “strategic patience.”

Then again - she admits - the human cost is climbing all the while.

JUDITH MILLER: “We have had 470 American deaths out of 680 this year which is enormously high. We have a situation in Pakistan which shows no evidence of getting any better for American forces.”

NPR reports, the situation in Afghanistan is not all bad.  A general says, it’s just that tactical success don’t always translate to larger strategic success.

“There are things that are working, such as U.S.-led operations in the southern part of the country pushing insurgent groups out of key areas. Special forces raids have captured or killed hundreds of insurgent leaders in the past few months.”

So what’s a president seeking re-election in two years to do? MSNBC talked with the Executive Director of the Central Asia Institute, Greg Mortensen, who says the answer is in the age-old adage: The pen is mightier than the sword.

Mortenson says he’s working with lawmakers to focus efforts on civilian education -- and not to expect the military to solve all the world’s problems.

“Well, the Taliban, one of their primary recruiting grounds are illiterate society. In the last three years the Taliban bombed, burned or destroyed 2,800 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. About 80% of those are girls school. I think it is because the greatest fear is not a bullet but a pen. ... It’s backwards that the military setting is strategic policy to President Obama to evaluate. And we expect the soldiers to be diplomats, warriors and humanitarians. It is unrealistic.”

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