Let me read from Bloomberg News today -- Al Hunt writing this, quoting Gordon Goldstein, who's a professor who knows a lot about the Vietnam War, has written a major book on it: "Goldstein argues it's clear the counter-insurgency and population protection policy, as out in General Stanley McChrystal's manifesto last summer, is failing, reminiscent of the grandiose plans McGeorge Bundy promulgated in Vietnam back in the 1960s."
How much of a comparison -- because you -- you and I both lived through the Vietnam era -- David, how much of a comparison and analogy is there between what happened in Vietnam and what's happening now in Afghanistan?
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Well, there's one possible comparison, Wolf. It's also possible to compare this to Iraq, when it seemed hopeless at one point. Many people wanted to pull all the plugs out. And -- and the United States had a surge and -- and it got a lot better. It's not -- it's certainly not stable yet, but it's a lot better than what it was.
So I think one has to be careful about choosing which -- which analogy you -- you think is -- applies.
What I do think, Wolf, is that -- is these murders have a special poignancy here in America, because so many Americans have fallen in love with Greg Mortenson's book, "Three Cups of Tea," which describes his long years of bravery and generosity and compassion in building schools in Afghanistan. And they learned about what it's like to be out there.
So -- and Mortenson, who was found in his home in a -- Bozeman, Montana this weekend, said -- pointed out that this area where these aid workers was is just terribly poor. It's the highest maternal mortality rates in the world are found where these aid workers were. So they were very brave people.
I do think, as Mortenson points out that, in the future, people who are going to -- who do these aid missions -- are going to need more security when they go out.
BLITZER: Yes, they've got...
GERGEN: It's clear the Taliban is targeting them.
BLITZER: Whether it's the Taliban or just simble -- simple murders or whatever seeking to steal their money or whatever...
GERGEN: Right.
BLITZER: -- it's a dangerous, dangerous environment.
Now, you know, the new commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, he's about to undertake a major media campaign to sell this war to an increasingly skeptical and nervous American public right now. And one of the arguments that's being made -- it's costing more than a hundred billion dollars a year, this war in Afghanistan, forget about Iraq for the time being -- money that could be spent on -- on education or health care or infrastructure, whatever, here in the United States.
It's a difficult sell to a lot of folks, who are saying, shouldn't we be spending that money here?
GERGEN: That's absolutely right. And it is -- I think it's an important factor that David Petraeus, who has been basically silent for seven weeks, is now essentially going on a media blitz over the next three weeks or so with -- with a number of interviews, making his case. And what -- what General Petraeus is arguing, I think, basically is, Wolf, that, listen, give us a little more time. He knows when he went there -- he told me and he told others -- he knows the window is starting to close. And I think what he's trying to do is keep the window open long enough to see if he can turn this around.
He doesn't know if he can succeed. It's a -- it's -- you know, it's a hard go. He knew there were going to be more fatalities.
But I do think for him to place it in perspective is important. He has more credibility right now than anybody I know on -- on what's going on over there.
BLITZER: And especially when -- when the argument is made, as Leon Panetta testified or said before the American public -- the CIA director -- not that long ago, by U.S. intelligence estimates, there are only about 50 to 100 Al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan right now. Forget the Taliban, but Al Qaeda, per se, 50 to 100. That's a lot of money and 100,000 troops being spent and used to find 50 or 100 Al Qaeda terrorists.
GERGEN: It's a whole lot of money. And the question that General Petraeus will have to address is, you know, OK, so what's the alternative?
How much money is it going to cost us if there -- if there are new terrorist groups that have to set up camps there and find that to be a safe haven?
So there -- there are costs either way. You know, we -- we are not in a happy place as a country. And we are spending a -- a ton of money on these two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And the question Americans are going to have to weigh is, OK, what is the price if we don't do this?
What is -- how much is it really worth to us? I don't think any of us knows the answers. But I do think it's going to be good to hear from General Petraeus on it.
BLITZER: Yes. It's always good to hear from General Petraeus.
All right, tanks very much for that, David.
Transcript from The Situation Rooom aired August 9, 2010