Remember Afghanistan? That other war? The place where the terrorists actually, you know, were? ... No?
Well, don't be too hard on yourself. (Let me do it for you!) Nobody else seems to remember it either. If nothing else, the combination of Iraq and Afghanistan will serve as a cautionary tale for the future. Assuming that we remember to read it, anyway.
The handful of valiant American warriors fighting the ''other'' war in Afghanistan is not a happy band of brothers. They are undermanned and feel neglected, lack confidence in their generals and are disgusted by Afghan political leadership. Most important, they are appalled by the immense but fruitless effort to find Osama bin Laden for purposes of U.S. politics.
This bleak picture goes unreported because journalists are rarely seen there. It was painted to me by hard U.S. fighters who are committed to the war against terrorism but have a heavy heart. They talked to me not to undermine policy but to reveal problems that should and can be corrected.
Afghanistan constitutes George W. Bush's clearest victory since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The Taliban regime has been overthrown, eliminating al-Qaida's most important base. But the overlooked war continues with no end in sight. Narcotics trafficking is at an all-time high. If U.S. forces were to leave, the Taliban -- or something like it -- would regain power. The United States is lost in Afghanistan, bound to this wild country and unable to leave....
Something of a side note: you know things are perhaps not going the best for a president when ideologues of his own party are joining the incessant drumbeat of criticism of him, however muted.
It's also very strange to be -- repeatedly -- agreeing with so many conservatives and neocons about administration policy. Kind of makes you wish they'd go back to being unthinking ideologues; it would make it so much easier to continue to dislike them and all that they stand for.
Posted by iain at June 02, 2004 01:22 PM
