Image: A U.S. Marine with a Marine special operations team assists with security during a construction project for an Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoint in Helmand province, Afghanistan, March 30, 2013. Flickr / U.S. Department of Defense
Daniel DePetris, RCD: Things Are No Better in Afghanistan
On November 28, 2017, U.S. Commander Gen. John Nicholson delivered a remarkable briefing to the Pentagon press corps on the Trump administration’s new Afghanistan policy. The general was so upbeat about the progress that he witnessed on the battlefield that you could be forgiven for thinking the U.S. was just a few months away from celebrating complete and total victory. Nicholson beamed with confidence that the new war plan was a “game-changer” and a turning point against the Taliban. The “momentum is now with Afghan security forces,” he declared, and with just a little more time, the Taliban will soon realize that their only option is reconciliation with the Afghan government.
Apparently, the Defense Department’s Inspector General does not share the commander’s booming optimism.
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WNU Editor: I do not disagree with the above assessment. The Afghan war is now at a stalemate .... but the casualties continue to pile up.
Update: Another bleak assessment .... America Will Never Win the War in Afghanistan (Ali Wyne, National Interest).
5 comments:
The US and NATO can't exterminate enough true believers to control and direct Afghanistan's affairs. The US blundered badly when it invaded in 2001, plenty of people knew it at that time except for the people in the White House. Walking away means a new virulent strain of Islam takes root in a safe haven and then goes on to infect Muslims worldwide.
Staying continues wearing down the worn down US armed forces and drains the treasury while accomplishing very little. In fact that virulent strain of Islam is already there.
Bad outcomes every choice that is made.
Basically try to keep the violence down to a dull roar.
"Bad outcomes every choice that is made." So true!! When bad choices are made, it inevitably leads to bad outcomes with only more bad choices available. At some point, STOP MAKING BAD DECISIONS!!
The least bad option is to leave now. When in a hole, the first course of action is STOP DIGGING!! With sensible border security, a sensible immigration system, and a sensible deployment of our military forces we can probably reasonably secure America.
Clearly continuing to wear down our armed forces and further depleting our treasury is a bad idea. It's long past time to change course.
Plus China wants Afghanistan.
We had taken on Afghanistan because of 9/11 and the Taliban. We were doing very well. Then Pres Bush for reasons that make no sense decided to invade Iraq, thus diverting forces and policy. Taliban came back strong. Now we are stuck there, with the bad guys using our ally (ha) Pakistan when they hit and run.
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