Over a month ago I wrote here asking whether we had forgotten about our endless Afghan war, it’s failures and continuing chaos. Alas, the Trump White House appears to now be remembering Afghanistan, and possibly headed toward a disastrous conclusion — to ramp it up.
One of Albert Einstein’s best quotes, defining insanity, has become a cliche because it becomes true over and over again: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
To repeat myself, when corruption and resistance bedevils you in a tribal land that has been ungovernable and unconquerable at least since Alexander the Great WHY NOT keep doing more of the same for another 16 years. But few eyebrows rose in Washington when we learned the Pentagon wants 5,000 troops added to the 8,400 we have there now.
Here Come The Russians
Next up for Putin appears to be making trouble for us there, even though the failed Afghan adventures of his Soviet predecessors contributed to their demise. It appears Russia’s boss sees intervention as a piece of his aim to be a global power player. Let him have it. Empires tend to crumble there.
What Are We Fighting For?
No one seriously argues that any of our three main goals in Afghanistan are faring well: Defend the government, fight terrorists and hold land recaptured from the Taliban last year. As a Kentucky sergeant in Afghanistan recently told a reporter, “The Afghans ain’t buyin’ what we’re sellin’.”
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