No easy options as Obama agonizes over Afghan war

With Hamid Karzai confirmed as Afghan president for another five years, the pressure is on Barack Obama to declare his plans for winning a war which commanders say is in danger of being lost. With U.S. and European enthusiasm for the war waning, experts say President Obama may opt for a more limited boost in troop numbers. They warn that other options are fraught with difficulties. In a new report, the International Crisis Group (ICG), a Ploughshares Fund grantee, warned that the Taliban were at their strongest since being overthrown in 2001. "The insurgents believe that they now have the upper hand," it said. 

Mark Schneider, vice president of ICG, said Obama could roll out a limited plan that could be ramped up later. "We could easily see the administration making the judgment that right now we have to send in trainers, mentors at an accelerated pace to train the Afghan military," he said.