Why are we still in Afghanistan?
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Editor,
Why is it that in this Afghanistan campaign our leaders are so reluctant to accept the fact that the entire operation was built upon faulty knowledge, impossible goals, misreading of Afghan leaders, and military strategies that are so outmoded in defeating the Taliban that we must be the laughing stock of their nefarious members?
And this whole thing about firing Gen. Stanley McChrystal and appointing Gen. David Petraeus being hailed as some sort of genius strategy is ludicrous.
What difference does it make? We should be taking what McChrystal said in that Rolling Stones article as a lucid and accurate assessment of the whole operation in Afghanistan, even thought it came through an interesting medium and with obviously blatant disrespect for authority. McChrystal’s comments were snide, derogatory and contemptuous and certainly unbecoming to a military general.
What the heck is our objective in Afghanistan? Is it to make their nation more like ours? Good luck.
This whole thing is ridiculous and causing many military families untold grief, just as with Iraq. And what have we accomplished in Iraq? We’ve filled hospitals, mental institutions, and home health care providers with very damaged young men and women who obeyed orders from people they trusted and believed knew what they were doing.
Why don’t we learn? Why do we keep making these costly and devastating mistakes? Are we not capable of shifting our thinking, attitudes, objectives and strategies to something better than Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan?
In my opinion, and the opinion of many others, it’s time we began acting like intelligent human beings instead of dashing about thinking we can control the world and have it all fit our agenda.
Bob McClellan
Polson
