Recently the war effort in Afghanistan has taken a turn for the worse. The deaths have been mounting and our brave soldiers on the ground so far away are suffering from indecision and inaction in Washington.
For the U.S. to see any kind of success, to salvage any pride the U.S. military still has in the region there needs to be a level of commitment that is nonexistent now. The U.S. cannot expect to be able to control a country the size of Texas and a population of 150 million people with the number of U.S. troops there now. Afghanistan has a very weak government and has essentially no control over the mountainous regions where warring groups, religion and tribes are the ruling authority over the land.
President Obama had a strong stance on the war and ordered the deployment of more troops. In February he authorized the deployment of 17,000 more soldiers and marines. Even then the situation was deteriorating. However, as the popularity of the war declined with the situation and as the U.S. death toll went up, the support in Washington went down. General Stanley A. McChrystal has led a respectable effort with the resources he has had, but he knows more troops are needed to regain some lost ground.
In a recent report by McChrystal submitted to the Defense Secretary made public September 20, McChrystal called for more troops, “While the situation is serious, success is still achievable.”
After September 11, the CIA led precise attacks on Taliban and Al Qaeda militants in Afghanistan and routed them out of power and into hiding. However, when the U.S. was chasing Osama Bin Laden himself towards Pakistan, the CIA called for troops to block the terrorists exit across the border into Pakistan. But Washington decided to let native Afghan military forces to cut off the border, which was a complete failure and Bin Laden got away. One CIA operative’s account claims that he and his men were at one point within 2000 yards of Bin Laden’s position but too many unknowns made them resist. Then, the Afghan fighters declared a cease-fire with Al-Qaeda, and when the operatives wanted to go after Bin Laden, the fighters drew their weapons. Negotiations with the Afghans took 12 hours and that was all the time Bin Laden and his personal bodyguards needed to escape. This was probably the first great blunder of the war, Bin Laden was able escape and the rest is history. Since the first stage of the effort in Afghanistan has passed, terrorist fighters have slowly returned to a powerful state in the region. Also, the aid of the local leaders and tribes is of the utmost importance to the success of the war. The U.S. troops need cooperation by tribes for reliable intelligence, aid and even military support. The Northern Alliance, a band of tribes in northern Afghanistan have been fighting with the Taliban for many years. Some of the Northern Alliance forces are helping the U.S. today were given weapons and training for the struggle against the Soviets so many years ago. However, having their friendship this time around is not so easy since last time the U.S. was in Afghanistan it promised the tribes to help pick up the pieces after the Soviet conflict, but it never came and the U.S. support ended as the Soviets left the region. It is worrisome since the violence has recently increased, and everyday the war resembles Vietnam more and more. However, although past conflicts are burned in many Americans’ memories, Afghanistan can still be a success if more troops from the U.S. and other nations of the world are deployed.
In all, the U.S. forces have a difficult task just getting the support from the tribes and can expect a very difficult road ahead if it wants to see results and any success. Full commitment is needed if there is to be victory, and the public has to appreciate and support the effort if it is to persuade our political leaders to make the right decision.
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