The Afghanistan War Is A Quagmire

President Barack Obama meets with his national security team on Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Situation Room of the White House, June 23, 2010. Seated at the table are, from left, General David Petraeus, head of US Central Command, Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Vice President Joe Biden, the President, National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Deputy National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, and John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Quagmire? Nine Years On, Americans Grow Weary Of War In Afghanistan -- Christian Science Monitor

Americans approve of Gen. David Petraeus as the new US commander in Afghanistan. But after nine years and with mounting US casualties, support for the war itself is waning.

Until recently, the nine-year conflict in Afghanistan had become “the forgotten war” for many Americans – a complaint increasingly heard among US troops there.

But this week’s sacking of Gen. Stanley McChrystal as US commander puts Afghanistan – and especially how the fight against the Taliban is going – squarely back into public thought and concern.

Read more ....

My Comment: My Russian relatives who fought for the Soviet Army in Afghanistan in the 1980s regarded their presence in the country as a quagmire in the fourth year. The U.S. and its NATO allies are now in the ninth year of this conflict .... with no resolution in sight.

What is worse is that while we are killing more Taliban soldiers and commanders, their ranks are still growing and their support is still solid among many in Afghanistan and in the safe sanctuaries along the Afghan/Pakistan border. I suspect that if the Taliban body count is increased by a factor of ten .... the Taliban will still be strong and their support will still be present in many Afghan villages.

With time on their side, the Taliban know that it will only be a matter of time before NATO .... and then U.S. forces .... will leave the country. My prediction .... by 2011-2012 the vast majority of the American public (60% - 70%) will be against this war and will be demanding a pullout ASAP. President Obama, low in the polls because of the economy, will listen and announce that U.S. forces will leave from what has become a quagmire and a losing proposition for the U.S.

But in the interim .... blood and treasure will being spilled because a President and his military chiefs are unwilling and unable to recognize that the decisions that they made at the end of last year are not working out .... and worse .... may actually be helping the enemy.

How do I know this .... because it is at times like this I always remember a post that the Captain's Journal did on the discussion between President Obama and his military chiefs on laying out the Afghan strategy last year ....

Inside the Oval Office, Obama asked Petraeus, “David, tell me now. I want you to be honest with me. You can do this in 18 months?”

“Sir, I’m confident we can train and hand over to the ANA [Afghan National Army] in that time frame,” Petraeus replied.

“Good. No problem,” the president said. “If you can’t do the things you say you can in 18 months, then no one is going to suggest we stay, right?”

“Yes, sir, in agreement,” Petraeus said.

“Yes, sir,” Mullen said.

The president was crisp but informal. “Bob, you have any problems?” he asked Gates, who said he was fine with it.

The president then encapsulated the new policy: in quickly, out quickly, focus on Al Qaeda, and build the Afghan Army. “I’m not asking you to change what you believe, but if you don’t agree with me that we can execute this, say so now,” he said. No one said anything.

“Tell me now,” Obama repeated.

“Fully support, sir,” Mullen said.

“Ditto,” Petraeus said.

There is no way that the Afghan Army will be ready .... by this time next year .... to implement any reasonable presence in any Taliban stronghold in the country.

Not even close.

But why are our military chiefs saying otherwise .... and still saying so after General McChrystal's firing? And why is President Obama accepting their recommendations .... even today.

Your guess is as good as mine.