There are many old Joel Chandler Harris stories about “Uncle Remus” and “Br’er Rabbit.” Are today’s children familiar with them?
Well, once when Br’er Rabbit was caught in Uncle Remus’ garden, Br’er Rabbit pleaded “not to be thrown in the brier patch.”
His wily strategy, of course, was that, as a rabbit, he would be quite at home and comfortable in the “brier patch.”
We thought of that story in connection with the assignment this week of Gen. David Petraeus to command American troops in the very troublesome “brier patch” of Afghanistan.
Gen. Petraeus didn’t “ask” for that assignment, but as a professional soldier of broad experience, he seems to be just the right man to be thrown into the Afghanistan brier patch.
The general must try to support a dysfunctional government, in a dysfunctional country, that is divided into warring political factions. He must try to defeat vicious enemies, stabilize the country and avoid bad international consequences.
The general willingly, like Br’er Rabbit, even eagerly, accepted the challenge. We wish him, our American troops there, the Afghan people and all Americans well in seeking a happy — or at least not a negative — ending to this real-life story.