The U.S. envoy to the U.N. rejects claims that the Obama administration's pace of determining a strategy in Afghanistan is a sign of weakness. What would be "weak and dangerous," Susan Rice says, is a rushed decision made without thoroughly considering the implications for U.S. national security.

A special report from All Things Considered and NPR.org explores the challenges facing President Obama, America and Afghanistan in the troubled region and the options available to the U.S.

After a routine resupply mission, the American soldiers disappeared and more than 25 NATO and Afghan security forces members were wounded during the search mission for them, the alliance said Friday.

This week's Planet Money report deals with what economists call the "paradox of oil." We'll meet two men who work in the African nation of Angola. One is an American, who makes big money in the oil business. The other is an Angolan who sells chewing gum on the street.

When the main challenger to Afghan President Hamid Karzai dropped out of a planned runoff, it did more than end two months of election disputes. According to Sen. John Kerry, it also gives Karzai a chance to prove his legitimacy — and to become a stronger ally to America.

In the six years since the U.S. invasion, Iraq's oil production has hardly matched the level under Saddam Hussein. Iraq's oil minister had been harshly criticized, but this week the world's largest oil companies signed multi-billion dollar deals to redevelop Iraq's oil fields. What's most impressive is that the oil minister got the companies to accept Iraq's conditions and terms.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is calling for a counterinsurgency strategy based on more U.S. troops and more training of afghan troops. Max Boot, of the Council on Foreign Relations, backs this strategy. But Vice President Joe Biden instead wants the focus to be counterterrorism. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) is seeking a limited troop increase, and a credible Afghan partner. But retired Marine Col. Thomas Hammes wants U.S. troops withdrawn.

The U.S. public is divided on Afghanistan, says Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center. Earlier in the year, he says, majorities supported keeping troops in the country until Afghanistan is stable. More recently, however, only 50 percent said troops should stay, Kohut says.

The overall performance of the Afghan army is reasonably satisfactory, says Ronald Neumann, who served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2005 until 2007. Neumann says there have been problems with training, and it is important not to push Afghan forces into combat too soon.

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., says al-Qaida and its extremist allies are enemies of the U.S. in Afghanistan. She says the Taliban not only is allied with al-Qaida, but poses a threat to the Afghan government.

President Obama says the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan, and also to prevent al-Qaida from having any safe havens in Afghanistan. To that end, there are 68,000 U.S. troops, more than one-third of them combat brigades, in Afghanistan. They are mostly along the border with Pakistan and in the south.

Patricia DeGennaro, senior fellow with the World Policy Institute, who worked in President Hamid Karzai's office in 2008, says the West is much more focused on a war effort in Afghanistan than it is on civilian governance efforts. Former Afghan Interior Minister says though Afghanistan is "a theme park of problems," Afghans know they can live with one another.

The U.S. is making progress in Afghanistan in places such as Helmand Province, but a shortage of troops may be hindering some of the work. There is also a long way to go in creating more Afghan soldiers and police, and ensuring the Afghan government provides services to the population.

In the eight years since the invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. has spent $156 billion on the war there. But that figure only includes the Defense Department's price tag. The human cost has been high, too. The Pentagon says that since 2001, more than 900 U.S. servicemembers have been killed.

In Afghanistan, a runoff election was called off this week, handing incumbent President Hamid Karzai a second term. Many Afghans are adamant that Karzai deliver change this time around, and his Western partners have plans to set benchmarks he will have to meet.