From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

War and Peace in the Graveyard of Empires.

Hello again, I'm Arminolny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

The daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Last week, President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize as he concluded a series of strategy

sessions on the eight-year-old war in Afghanistan.

His commanding general wants to add 40,000 troops to the 68,000 already there to fight the Taliban

and establish effective civilian government.

It could take billions of American dollars in thousands of lives to control corruption,

establish a justice system, and prop up the economy.

What are the alternatives?

What are America's goals?

We'll look at the options today.

On reporter's notebook, football, concussions, and memory-related disease.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and

Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Bill and

Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy,

productive life. Information at Gates Foundation.org. Hello again, Mormon-Aulny, back with To the Point.

Does al-Qaeda in Afghanistan threaten U.S. security? What about the Taliban? What will it take to establish a

credible civilian government? Should the U.S. send more troops or begin conducting a graceful

withdrawal? We'll look at some of the questions facing the latest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

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