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Afghan War Worse Than We Thought? How Is That Possible?

Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s expose in Rolling Stone already demonstrated that the war effort in Afghanistan is going much worse than we had imagined. Now the release of 90,000 classified US government documents provide greater context to our fears.

These documents, allegedly leaked by US army intelligence analyst, Spc. Bradley Manning to Wikileaks.org, emphasize that elements within the government of our “ally” Pakistan may be providing training to the Taliban, helping them to attack US troops, that civilian deaths have been underreported, that the US military’s unmanned drone program is largely a failure, and friendly fire deaths among NATO forces and among Afghan security forces are epidemic.

Aside from key efforts within the Democratic Party by politically connected activists like the progressives at Democrats.com, the antiwar left has been nearly silent, choosing to give a pass to the Obama administration and the Democratically led Congress. How long can this last? We have to pressure Congress and the administration to change course.

The war in Afghanistan is unwinnable, and that won’t change during the Obama administration nor the administration afterward. However, the US position in Afghanistan is extremely complex, and our complete and immediate withdrawal might cause the broader region to descend into chaos.

It is obvious that the war effort cannot continue the way it has. Military minds say that Obama’s escalation and counter insurgency strategy isn’t working.  So what is the answer? And how many billions must be spent and how many lives must be lost while our corrupt, unethical, inept politicians engage in partisan bickering instead of working to come up with real solutions?

The Runaway War: Why Firing McChrystal Won’t Help

So I finally got a chance to read the Rolling Stone article that brought down a general.

It is said that General Stanley McChrystal was fired for his contemptuous attitude toward his civilian bosses. However, McChrystal’s conduct isn’t the most damning aspect of the piece.

Michael Hastings paints a bleak portrait of the adventure that is the longest war in US history. The Counter Insurgency strategy (abbreviated COIN) advocated by McChrystal and sold to Obama isn’t working, and isn’t likely to work.

The article leaves me repeating the same question I’ve been asking for years: “What’s the point? Why are we at war in Afghanistan?”

Take this assessment from the article:

After nine years of war, the Taliban simply remains too strongly entrenched for the U.S. military to openly attack. The very people that COIN seeks to win over – the Afghan people – do not want us there.

Our supposed ally, President Karzai, used his influence to delay the offensive, and the massive influx of aid championed by McChrystal is likely only to make things worse. “Throwing money at the problem exacerbates the problem,” says Andrew Wilder, an expert at Tufts University who has studied the effect of aid in southern Afghanistan. “A tsunami of cash fuels corruption, delegitimizes the government and creates an environment where we’re picking winners and losers” – a process that fuels resentment and hostility among the civilian population.

So far, counterinsurgency has succeeded only in creating a never-ending demand for the primary product supplied by the military: perpetual war. There is a reason that President Obama studiously avoids using the word “victory” when he talks about Afghanistan. Winning, it would seem, is not really possible.

And if winning isn’t possible, then why continue to waste American treasure and lives?

When are the American people going to get fed up and demand that our president bring the troops home?

Click HERE to read the full article – “Rolling Stone: The Runaway General”

The Runaway War: Why Firing McChrystal Won’t Help

So I finally got a chance to read the Rolling Stone article that brought down a general.

It is said that General Stanley McChrystal was fired for his contemptuous attitude toward his civilian bosses. However, McChrystal’s conduct isn’t the most damning aspect of the piece.

Michael Hastings paints a bleak portrait of the adventure that is the longest war in US history. The Counter Insurgency strategy (abbreviated COIN) advocated by McChrystal and sold to Obama isn’t working, and isn’t likely to work.

The article leaves me repeating the same question I’ve been asking for years: “What’s the point? Why are we at war in Afghanistan?”

Take this assessment from the article:

After nine years of war, the Taliban simply remains too strongly entrenched for the U.S. military to openly attack. The very people that COIN seeks to win over – the Afghan people – do not want us there.

Our supposed ally, President Karzai, used his influence to delay the offensive, and the massive influx of aid championed by McChrystal is likely only to make things worse. “Throwing money at the problem exacerbates the problem,” says Andrew Wilder, an expert at Tufts University who has studied the effect of aid in southern Afghanistan. “A tsunami of cash fuels corruption, delegitimizes the government and creates an environment where we’re picking winners and losers” – a process that fuels resentment and hostility among the civilian population.

So far, counterinsurgency has succeeded only in creating a never-ending demand for the primary product supplied by the military: perpetual war. There is a reason that President Obama studiously avoids using the word “victory” when he talks about Afghanistan. Winning, it would seem, is not really possible.

And if winning isn’t possible, then why continue to waste American treasure and lives?

When are the American people going to get fed up and demand that our president bring the troops home?

Click HERE to read the full article – “Rolling Stone: The Runaway General”

© Nadir Omowale