Hot Docs: 'Losing' in Afghanistan, Teens and Vaccines, Economic Effects on Children's Health

Winning the War in Afghanistan: The Realities of 2009: The United States must "recognize just how grim the realities have become in the Afghan-Pakistan conflict," warns an expert on international conflicts, and "we are running out of time" to address the situation. In a frank assessment of U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies lays out the "unpleasant facts." "We currently are losing," he says, and "we cannot win unless we provide the proper resources, honest measures of effectiveness, and honest timelines for success." The solution will not be found in a simple plan—"endless meetings" and "generic" strategy cannot replace "detailed and workable plans to fight the war we now face and to win in the field at the local level." One key problem, Cordesman says, is a lack of transparency and straightforwardness in considering the conflict. He exhorts the Defense Department and others to "stop the spin and liar's contests, and provide honest public reporting."

Teens and Vaccines: While the nation's immunization rates for preteens and teens are going up, they are still short of goals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lance Rodewald, head of the CDCs immunization program, notes that "overall trends are good" but says that Healthy People 2010 goals of 90 percent immunization rates are not being met for any of the recommended vaccines.

Economic Effects on Children's Health: Is a child's health connected to his or her parents' economic status? A study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation suggests it might be. A state-by-state study finds a correlation between health and parental education and income. Broadly speaking, "as family income and levels of education rise, health improves." This is important, the group says, since good health in childhood "improves a child's chances of becoming a healthy adult and avoiding chronic conditions that can be limiting or disabling." Statistically, children from more advantaged families tend to be healthier than those who are less well-off, but there is "room for improvement" in all groups.

U.S. and Nuclear Nonproliferation: The United States' leadership and authority on nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament has eroded to the point of imperiling national security, according to a study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which cites the Bush administration's "selective support" for international agreements and United Nations principles. Nonetheless, the study, "Are New Nuclear Bargains Attainable?," says the United States "has the best capacity" to improve the nonproliferation regime.

Changing Course on Navy Shipbuilding: Recently, U.S. Navy officials have moved to end support for the Zumwalt class of destroyers, saying that the ship is no longer adequate for the wars of the 21st century. Heritage Foundation analyst Mackenzie Eaglen questions why that is. He points out that Navy officials testified as recently as 2005 that the Zumwalt was "absolutely essential" to the effort against terrorism. Eaglen says the Navy should provide better justification for the shift away from the ship, in which it "has invested significant time and resources." He writes that "the Navy's leadership has an obligation to provide Congress with full answers to these questions in a timely manner."