The war in Afghanistan is not going well. Since President Obama announced his decision to prolong the war and send another 40,000 troops to the country, the Taliban has stepped up it's attacks against both American troops, Afghan troops and innocent civilians. Last week, they even struck very violently at what should be the safest area in Afghanistan -- Kabul.
It causes me to wonder just how effective the new troops are going to be in trying to stabilize the country. Those troops were meant to be stationed outside of Kabul where loyalty to the Afghani government is questionable at best. It was already doubtful whether the troops could do much to stabilize the countryside, and now it looks like the capital city itself needs stabilizing.
Frankly, 40,000 troops are probably not enough to stabilize that country, especially in light of the fact that when things get hot for the Taliban and al-Queda they just move to another area or hide in Pakistan. And when they get to Pakistan, the U.S. can do nothing but use attack drones (which kill more innocent civilians than enemy fighters).
We now learn that Pakistan is not going to help fight the rebels in their country. Yesterday Major General Abbas, PR spokesman for the Pakistani army, told BBC News, "We are not going to conduct any major new operations against the militants over the next 12 months. The Pakistan army is overstretched and is not in a position to open any new fronts." In other words, al-Queda and the Taliban will get a free ride in Pakistan for the next year.
This means that at least for the next 12 months, the best the U.S. and its allies can do is to fight a holding action. Victory cannot be achieved without fighting the militants in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. With no pressure being put on them in Pakistan, there is truly no path to victory -- just the continuing deaths of allied soldiers and innocent civilians.
In the current situation, there is no point in even sending 40,000 more troops. We need to just withdraw our troops. It is, and has been, a mistake to support the unpopular, corrupt and misogynistic government of President Karzai anyway.
With the recent Pakistani decision not to fight, our position in Afghanistan has become untenable. I urge President Obama to stop this mad folly and bring all of our troops home.
doesn't anyone read the books in their history class?..judas priest..of course things are going badly..these people aren't going to change their behavior that they have been demonstrating for the last 1,000 years..why would they start now..
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