How The Afghan War Will Be Decided

NATO soldiers with at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul on May 16, 2013. (Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

How The Afghan Conflict Will Be Decided -- Michael Hirsh, The Atlantic

A horrific week for U.S. casualties reaffirms President Obama's rush to rely on the Afghan army. But can they handle it?

KABUL, Afghanistan - Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi thumbs excitedly through a brochure prepared for him by Textron, the U.S. defense contractor. "This is what I want!" the Afghan army chief of staff says, pointing to a picture of the latest technology in armored troop carriers.

Outside Karimi's window, the giant, $92 million new defense headquarters that Washington is building for him is nearly finished; Karimi moves in in September. "Pentagon No. 1. This no. 2," Karimi's adjutant, Col. Mohammed Shah, says proudly in broken English. What Shah means is that the vast domed structure atop a hill--which resembles nothing so much as the Temple Mount--is expected to be the second-largest defense headquarters in the world, a distinct oddity in one of the poorest countries in the world. The Pentagon is also spending about a billion dollars on Karimi's pride and joy, a new Mobile Strike Force. That includes $58 million on brand-new armored vehicles designed especially for the Afghan army by Textron (and which are deemed so state of the art that Canada just bought some for itself).

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Update: Embassy Row: After Afghanistan for NATO -- Washington Times

My Comment: In the end .... Afghanistan's future will be decided by the Afghan's themselves .... which should have been the case starting a few years ago.