The following is an editorial opinion which may be of interest to Royal Gazette readers.

San Francisco Chronicle on leaked US military records on Afghanistan:

The truckload of classified Afghanistan reports released by a whistle-blower website isn't all that fresh or shocking. To summarise the more than 91,000 documents: The US military is suspicious of Pakistani allies, Afghan corruption is rampant and the fighting isn't going well.

There are other problems. The paperwork is dated, spanning from January 2004 to December 2009, when President Barack Obama decided to send 40,000 more troops and the military adopted new approaches. Since then, predator drones have killed Taliban leaders, civilian deaths are down, and Washington has pushed hard for more Pakistani cooperation.

But the reports still carry a huge punch. This is a war the US is fighting with a questionable major ally. A shadowy spy agency connected to Pakistan's powerful military undercuts American plans and conspires with Taliban fighters to kill US troops.

The Taliban, stronger than ever despite more US troops, has modern weaponry to bring down helicopters. And American field reports cover up or underplay civilian deaths.

Even if the documents are dated or sketchy, they arrive at a do-or-die moment for Washington. Democrats in the Senate, who would normally be White House allies, are souring on this fight, nearing the ten-year mark. The firing of war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal brought out the divided, backbiting tensions within the US ranks.

Come December, Obama is due to hold extensive talks with his military and diplomatic teams about the war. More troops, stand pat, or begin pulling out troops next July?

The WikiLeaks trove may be built largely on low-level and unsubstantiated reports, but the point is plain: The United States is mired in what may be an unwinnable fight. ...