Everybody's a critic

Some people must be nostalgic for World War II.  They seem to expect some kind of final battle in Afghanistan where we get to wave the flag and do a "victory dance" on the Taliban, followed by brass bands heralding the return of the troops, and ticker-tape parades throughout the land.  If only General MacArthur were here to see it! 

By and large, these are the same people who thought the war in Afghanistan--and Iraq too--were just fine and had no gripes about the waging of either, until just now. 

On the other side are those who thought the Lightbringer would end all wars, and that the lion would lie down with the lamb in the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius.  When candidate Obama supported the war in Afghanistan, they considered this mere campaign fluff.  He couldn't really mean it.

It's not hard to see what's at stake in Afghanistan or why the administration wants to continue the effort there.  Afghanistan shares a long and difficult border with Pakistan, the largest and most powerful Islamic country in the world.  Pakistan is also racked with internal strife, is laced with Taliban-sympathizers, has The Bomb, and has nearly gone to war with India on more than one occasion.

Then, of course, there is the small matter of 9/11.  Some of the Taliban have al-Qaeda connections.  Were the Taliban to control the government, as they once did, the odds would increase on al-Qaeda having a safe haven in Afghanistan.  This would increase the danger to the United States, but would really increase the danger to Pakistan.

There won't be a World War II-style "victory" in Afghanistan.  This has never been our goal.  We want a stable Afghanistan, with a military that can handle its own internal dissidents.  Perhaps the administration's strategy won't achieve that end, but General Petraeus, who is supposed to be an expert in these things, thinks it will.

Maybe he's wrong.  That's certainly a possibility.  One has to appreciate, however, that General Petraeus has also displayed the kind of flexibility of mind and strategy that is not beholden to ideology and looks for results.  When the Sunnis were making life miserable for American troops in Iraq, he handled it the American way, i.e., he paid them off.  "Here's some money.  Don't fight us.  Go fight al-Qaeda instead," which, to everyone's surpise, they did.

Most Americans supported the original invasion of Afghanistan.  Our efforts there floundered after the Bush administration decided it needed some of the troops in Afghanistan for the war in Iraq.  As a result, not only did bin Laden get away at Tora Bora, but the Taliban made a resurgence throughout the country.  The current administration would like to reverse that trend and stabilize a country which has Pakistan on one border and Iran on the other.  That is a reasonable and important goal.

Comments

[Hypatia]

Lots more dead people. I'm sure the Afghans and Pakistanis will appreciate the stability, at least those who aren't too dead to enjoy it.

It is true that some of us did harbor a wee hope that Barry 'n' Hill would tone down the warlike rhetoric and take another look at this expensive bloody disaster once they were actually in power, but it's not going to happen, obviously.

Apparently we are now using more mercenaries than the Bush Administration, and I'm sure there will be more on the way. My heart goes out to our overstressed troops. The suicide rate is up in the armed forces, it seems.

However, this is indeed the Democrats' war. They wanted it -- and now they have it. Merry Christmas.

[John Petty]

I don't know if they wanted it. Stuck with it is more on target.

[Hypatia]

I think a Democratic administration would have invaded after 9/11. You can argue the merits of such invasion for and against - I can think of strong arguments on both sides -- but I don't pin this war on Bush. Many Dems have been arguing for years that Afghanistan was the Good War, and if Bush would only do as they were telling him we would yet be triumphant in the graveyard of empires. I thought this was irresponsible and foolish. Sure, don't be a peacenik, but don't wave the bloody shirt like that either. Such rhetoric can come back to haunt you.

[John Petty]

I'm OK with being a peacenik, just not a delusional one. Pres. Obama's plan for Afghanistan is thoroughly consistent with what he said during the campaign. (Some of his other actions haven't been, but that one is.) So to act all-outraged when he does what he said he was going to do seems both naive and odd.