Posted by
Bull 67 on Sunday, September 27, 2009 1:26:24 PM
Wanted Dead or Alive?
Wanted at All?
Several pieces of news caught my eye over the past week. Two were public opinion polls, one was an op/ed piece by conservative columnists George Will, and another op/ed article by liberal columnist Bob Herbert.
Polls by CBS and USA Today/Gallup state half of Americas oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan, even though General McCrystal, commander of forces in Afghanistan, states without them we risk defeat. In fact, 32% of Americans think US forces should be decreased. Popular support for the mission in Afghanistan is profoundly eroding.
Conservative columnists George Will calls for US withdrawal. His reasons are: 1) Keep faith with the troops, 2) Nation building is impossible in Afghanistan, 3) The government there is too corrupt and democratic reforms are making things worse, 4) We don’t have enough troops to adequately apply a proper counterinsurgency strategy. Will calls for a “comprehensively revised strategy,” - a policy of isolation, containment, and use of remote technology to strike when necessary from beyond Afghanstan (I call this the “Escape From New York” strategy – keep the Taliban and Al Qaeda bottled up and isolated in Afghanistan using UAVs and airpower).
Liberal columnist Bob Herbert calls for withdrawal because most Americans 1) Don’t know where Afghanistan is, 2) Don’t care to find out, 3) Are too preoccupied with the economy, 3) Believe the war has no impact on terrorism, 4) Many people were too young when 9/11 happened to really care, 5) Have a skewed concept of what war really is, shaped by Hollywood and not reality, 6) Are not prepared for what is required to sustain a prolonged counterinsurgency. Herbert offers no options other than to “explore creative alternatives to endless war and bring the weary troops home.”
The conservative says ,“Victory is not possible with resources at hand. Isolate the enemy and send in Snake Pliskin” The liberal says, “Americas are too dumb, distracted, ignorant, misinformed, unprepared and fickle to do the job. Let’s sit around and come up with a different solution.”
Regardless of their arguments, both say its time to bring the troops home. For various reasons, 50% of the American public agrees.
These facts I know:
1. On September 11, 2001 almost 3000 American’s were killed by Al Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden. Our nation sustained a direct attack in the heart of our government, financial, and cultural centers.
2. Al Queda was based in Afghanistan, under the protection of their Taliban allies.
3. Over 850 Americans have died in Afghanistan trying to destroy our enemies.
4. Al Qaeda, Bin Laden, and Osama Bin Laden are all still there.
How do I define victory in Afghanistan?
1. Our enemies are dead.
2. No one will join their cause because they know they will die, too.
3. No one will fund and supply them, because they know they will die, too.
4. There is no nation building, there is no “hearts and minds” strategy, there is no “democratization process.”
5. America is feared by our enemies, without doubt, reservation or compromise.
Before there was a Marshall Plan, there was Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Germans and Japanese never saw the “hearts and minds” until they saw they “shock and horror.”
Eight years after 9/11, will this definition of victory be discussed in a “comprehensively revised strategy?” I doubt it.
Where am I going with this? In this forum I’ve warned of the impacts of further defense cuts on our ability to defend out national interests abroad. I think I’ve been wrong all these years. It doesn’t matter if we increase our military 10-fold and buy every weapon system the Pentagon says it needs. It’s all irrelevant. All the weapons in the world are useless if there is no will to use them to achieve victory. Maybe we are a fickle, unserious people – unwilling to bring those crush those who murdered our men, women and children.
No amount of “creative alternatives” or “comprehensively revised strategy” can bring victory to a people unwilling to defend their own vital national interest, let alone avenge their dead. We cannot stomach our own power or place in the world. Our enemies know this, even if we don’t. Their policy is comprehensive - total victory. Their means are creative, as 9/11 clearly showed. We waffle and rationalize while our enemies fight a blood feud to the end.
Lose Afghanistan, lose our future. May our children forgive us for the bleak future we’re bequeathing them.