German Bundeswehr army soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) take up position atop of a Mungo armoured vehicle during a tour for members of the German the lower house of parliament Bundestag near Kunduz, October 1, 2008. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government hopes to win a parliamentary mandate this month to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan by 1,000 soldiers. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (AFGHANISTAN)From Losing To Winning In Afghanistan -- Washington Times
Not only in the U.S. presidential race, not only at U.S. Central Command headquarters where Gen. David Petraeus is soon to take command, but in capital cities around the world, attention is now turning to Afghanistan. Incredibly, while the war in Iraq is now being won, the conflict in Afghanistan is presently being gradually lost.
To be sure, violence levels in Afghanistan remain well below what they were in Iraq in the throes of that country's civil war, before the U.S.-Iraqi surge and Sunni awakening and other developments turned things around so radically in 2007-2008 and brought the rate of violence down by at least 80 percent. But Afghanistan's situation is continually worsening by almost any measure, with no clear end in sight to the deterioration.
Monthly violence rates are up a factor of two to three from earlier years this decade. Poppy production continues to dominate what little there is of an Afghan economy. The Afghan army is improving, but woefully small, and the police forces are corrupt and largely ineffective. The Karzai government has little control or even influence in much of the countryside. Perhaps worst of all, insurgent and terrorist groups led by the Taliban and the Haqqani network operate with near impunity from across the border in Pakistan.
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My Comment: A thoughtful opinion piece .... a commentary that I recommend for everyone to read.
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