Modest Goals For The Other War

An F-15E Strike Eagle soars over the mountains of Afghanistan in support of Operation Mountain Lion on Wednesday, April 12, 2006. The crew and fighter are deployed to the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in Southwest Asia from the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

From USA Today:

The battle for Afghanistan is the one that echoes of Vietnam, but where we go from here is what matters.

When the conflict in Iraq was going badly, critics repeatedly suggested parallels with the Vietnam War. None of the comparisons held up. But Afghanistan is different: One tragic parallel makes a decisive success almost impossible to achieve.

The problem is that our enemies have a sanctuary across the border in Pakistan — just as the North Vietnamese army enjoyed havens in Laos, Cambodia and north of the demilitarized zone above South Vietnam.

We dropped bombs then, as we sometimes do now (though in far lesser numbers today), but a ground enemy has to be defeated on the ground. Troops must pursue the enemy to his last stronghold to eliminate the threat.

At present, the Taliban, al-Qaeda and their affiliates can muster their forces in Pakistan, cross into Afghanistan, make deadly mischief, then withdraw to fight another day. It's a savage game of hide-and-seek that keeps Afghanistan's poorest provinces unsettled, blocking development and inflicting terror on those who simply want to live in peace.

The answer seems obvious: Send our ground forces into Pakistan. Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has suggested that, as president, he'd do this. But the obvious answer is the wrong answer.

Read more ....

My Comment: I have been preparing to write a post comparing the present situation of Afghanistan to the Vietnam war. How the same policies (the wrong ones) that were applied to Vietnam are now being applied .... or being thought of and talked about in being applied to Afghanistan.

Ralph Peters has beaten me to the punch in the above post, and he has written a better article than what I am capable of.

This is a must read article. Mr. Peters analysis is dead on. He understands the culture and history of Afghanistan, and his understanding of Pakistan's tribal regions and the complexities of Afghan culture is impressive.