Afghanistan: Review & Outlook : An Afghanistan Commitment --- The next meaningful military call waiting on President Obama's desk is Afghanistan. The precedents (Iraq 2011, Syria this year) aren't encouraging, but the U.S. can still get this one right. -- Three years ago, President Obama settled on an arbitrary deadline of December 2014 to end "combat operations" in Afghanistan. This war won't be over because the U.S. says so. A robust foreign force will be needed for years to keep Afghanistan out of the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda. --- The hitch? Start at the White House. Some national security aides want a complete American pullout from Afghanistan next year, as in Iraq three years ago. The zero crowd (pun intended) wants to play to Americans who are understandably tired of 12 years of conflict. State and the Pentagon support a larger U.S. footprint, but in this Administration they are marginal players. -- Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, a difficult partner prone to erratic outbursts, rarely helps his cause in Washington. Last month, after Secretary of State John Kerry thought he had struck a deal on a bilateral security treaty during a visit to Kabul, Mr. Karzai pulled the rug out. He refused to grant U.S. troops immunity from Afghan prosecution after 2014 and punted the decision to the loya jirga, an assembly of tribal elders due to meet this month. -- America retains jurisdiction over all servicemen stationed overseas, whether in Germany or South Korea, and Mr. Karzai should understand that this is not negotiable. His stunt gives officials in Washington the excuse many of them are looking for to hit the "zero option." -- War fatigue and years of bad press in the U.S. have obscured Afghan successes. The country has a legitimate constitution. Girls are being educated and the economy is growing. The Taliban can wage an insurgency from Pakistan but they don't control much territory. The government in Kabul may be corrupt, but it's far better than anything Afghanistan has seen since its descent into civil conflict in the late 1970s. -- These gains came at a heavy American price. The U.S. has a strategic interest in building on this progress, and it's up to the U.S. Commander in Chief to finally get off the sofa and close the deal.