Since the last US presidential election, Sarah Palin has come to epitomize what I see as a major flaw in modern conservative politics. To me, there has been no better example to date (George W. Bush is a close second) of the Ignorant leading the Emotional.
So it seems that it might be hard to train up the Afghan Army to maintain "order" in Afghanistan after the US leaves in 18 months. Or it might be hard for the US to leave.