Wednesday, July 6, 2016

The Afghan War Is Not Going Well

Credit: Katie Park/NPR

Tom Bowman, NPR: Afghanistan: A Tragic Return To A War With No End

The Afghan army commander said the treacherous road to Marjah, in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, was now safe. His forces had driven out the Taliban a few days earlier, he added.

"The road is open, so no problem," said Lt. Gen. Moeen Faqir. "Of course I hope you go there and find the reality and reflect it."

Photojournalist David Gilkey and I traveled to Afghanistan many times. In our trip to eastern Afghanistan last year, we found an Afghan army willing to fight, but it was taking heavy casualties and still in need of considerable help. We wanted to find out what, if anything, was changing in a war America has largely forgotten since most U.S. forces left at the end of 2014.

What my colleagues and I encountered was both a horrifying personal tragedy and a microcosm of the larger war in Afghanistan.

Read more ....

Previous Post: President Obama: 8,400 U.S. Troops To Remain In Afghanistan Until 2017

WNU Editor: I do not envy the next U.S. President .... this war is a quagmire, even with a minimal presence.

1 comment:

TWN said...

There are a few places in the world and a few people in the world you should never mess with, Afghanistan and Afghans tops the list.At the time they decided to go into Afghanistan, I couldn't believe that they were so stupid and arrogant, and the British going back for another try it worked so well for they the first few times for them.