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

Afghanistan, the new Vietnam?

I'm Sarah Terry sitting in for Warren Only, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans

care about most. President Obama kicks off a series of meetings tomorrow with the National

Security Council about strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Will Obama agree to the military's

request for a troop surge? What effect will the dispute over Afghanistan's recent presidential

election have on U.S. policy? As public support for the war in Afghanistan declines,

will the president be more likely to pay attention to anti-war activists than his predecessor did?

Will Afghanistan become Obama's Vietnam? On reporter's notebook, will Director Roman Polanski be extradited to the U.S. on a 32-year-old charge?

First, 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 gatesfoundation.org.

I'm Sarah Terry, sitting in for Warren Olney, back with To the Point from PRI. We'll be talking about Afghanistan

and Pakistan and the challenges that President Obama faces in dealing with the region. The military

wants more troops, but Obama faces increasing public resistance to the war, including opposition

from many voters who helped elect him. What options does the president have?

Is the war in Afghanistan winnable? Or does Obama risk getting the U.S. bogged down in another Vietnam?

On reporter's notebook, why now? More than 30 years after he fled the U.S., Director Roman Polanski

has been arrested in Zurich on statutory rape charges

dating back to 1977.

...