A Case For Nation Building In Afghanistan

U.S. soldiers provide security around an Afghan border police check point for traffic control on a major highway in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, Feb. 21, 2013. The soldiers are assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment and Security Force Assistance Team 8, Texas Army National Guard. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann

How Not To Withdraw From Afghanistan -- Jim McDermott and Lawrence Wilkerson, Foreign Policy

Lessons from America's other war.

Eleven years of costly war have confirmed that there is no military solution in Afghanistan. As one U.S. commander in Afghanistan retires and another takes his place, it's time to focus on a political and economic transition to Afghan rule. It's time to finally bring U.S. troops home.

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced that 34,000 American soldiers, airmen, and Marines will indeed leave Afghanistan this year. But he provided few details about the withdrawal strategy. As he weighs the options for transferring security responsibility to Afghans and decides on what form the U.S. presence will take beyond 2014, he and his advisors would do well to remember the Iraq war as a cautionary tale.

First, the U.S. experience in Iraq showed that focusing too narrowly on a military solution comes at a high cost. The United States prioritized the buildup of the Iraqi Army, often at the expense of funding for crucial civilian programs in areas such as infrastructure support, governance and democracy, agricultural development, rule of law, and anti-corruption initiatives.

Read more ....

My Comment: An argument for nation building in Afghanistan even while a war is ongoing .... sighhh .... yeah right.