A Collection Of Opinions And Commentaries On Afghanistan

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U.S. service members from the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team and Kuchi tribe leaders meet in the Qalat province of Afghanistan Oct. 10, 2008, to discuss ways to assist the tribe during the upcoming winter. The Kuchis, a nomadic tribe, have lost a large number of livestock due to drought. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Keith Brown

The West Is At A Loss In Afghanistan -- Spiegel Online

More and more military and civilian leaders are voicing pessimism when it comes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. As the fight continues, ideas for how to break through the ongoing stalemate are few. Some are beginning to think that victory -- for either side -- is impossible.

It is one of the last mild summer evenings in Kabul. A group of Western diplomats and military officials is meeting for a private dinner in one of the embassies in Wazir Akbar Khan, an upscale residential neighborhood. Almost all of the 12 envoys and generals represent countries that have troops stationed in southern Afghanistan and the mood is somber. "Nothing is moving forward anymore, and yet we are no longer able to extricate ourselves," one of the ambassadors says over dessert, a light apple pastry. He gives voice to that which many here are already thinking: "We are trapped."

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Don't Rush For The Exit -- International Herald Tribune

The situation in Afghanistan in 2008 resembles that of the late 1980s, when the former Soviet leaders started looking for an exit.

Today, a number of Western diplomats and NATO generals are doing the same thing. The recent negotiations with the Taliban reflect a revision of U.S. and NATO strategy from the initial goal of creating a stable Afghan democracy to the present objective of simply finding a pretext to declare victory and get out of Afghanistan.

In late 1980s, Soviet leaders explored various bilateral and multilateral diplomatic channels, including direct engagement with a number of mujahedeen leaders.

U.S. and Soviet authorities had agreed on the concept of "negative symmetry" - banning arms sales to both sides - while working for a negotiated settlement once the Soviet Union withdrew in 1989. However, before a solution was reached, circumstances changed: The Soviet Union ceased to exist, U.S. attention to Afghanistan faded, and UN peace plans fell apart.

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The Mission Possible in Afghanistan -- Times Online

Christina Lamb is an excellent journalist. When she comes to fear that our work in Afghanistan is Mission Impossible (News Review, last week), it is important to take note. Like her, I have flown with our troops across barren Afghan terrain, seen the difficulty of coordinating the international effort, heard from Afghans their frustrations with government corruption. But it is also important that we do not leap to the wrong conclusion. Her article describes setbacks and successes. I recognise many of the points she makes. So what should we learn? My answer is that we should learn from mistakes, build upon successes and use the coming winter lull in fighting to plan the next phase of the campaign.

Military “victory” in Afghanistan never involved killing all the Taliban or building British suburbia – democratic and genteel– in the Panjshir Valley. If either of these were our aims, we would indeed be on an impossible mission. But our true mission, consistently advocated by the UK government and our allies, has been to use military power to create the space within which Afghan institutions can become strong enough to resist the Taliban. That mission is certainly not impossible.

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What Next in Afghanistan? -- IStock Analyst

Oct. 12--Tom Brokaw reminded John McCain and Barack Obama of the recent assessment by the leading British commander and the senior British diplomat in Afghanistan: We are failing there. Brokaw wanted to know, deep into the second presidential debate staged in Nashville last week: "How do you reorganize Afghanistan's strategy, or do you?"

Or do you?

Neither candidate picked up that cue. Both remain committed to the cause of nation-building as central to battling al-Qaida and its terrorist allies.

Obama talked about dispatching additional troops. He wants a more responsive Afghan government, alluding to his visit with President Hamid Karzai in the summer: "I was very clear that 'you are going to have to do better by your people in order for us to gain the popular support that is necessary.' " McCain largely agreed, and then cited the need to double the size of the Afghan army and streamline the NATO command structure. "We have to do a lot of things," he added.

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