Obama's magical world tour

Barack Obama's trip to Afghanistan, as part of a Congressional junket, had a rather inauspicious start. In what has been called a "misunderstanding", between nine and 13 Afghan police officers were killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan's Farah province. This is just the latest in a string of recent incidents that have resulted in dead Afghan civilians. Obama's call for a 16 month timetable for a withdrawal from Iraq has met with approval by Iraqi leader Nouri al-Maliki, though Maliki says his comments are no endorsement of Obama. Not that it mattered. The Obama camp jumped on Maliki's comments anyway. Obama is set to stand under the angel in the middle of Berlin's Teirgarten next week. While Europeans seem to have great affection for Obama, Europe's leaders are sniffing warily at his policy proposals and inexperience. And so Obama had lunch with the troops and Afghan President Hamid Karzai Sunday morning. And while the exchange seemed pleasant enough, one hopes that there'll be fewer "misunderstandings" in the days ahead.