America must change its ‘mind-set’
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Editor,
BBC News recently did a story on recruits to the Afghan National Army which is expected to assume responsibility for security in Afghanistan when foreign troops leave the country. They asked for comments from us readers. I submitted the following:
The whole idea of building an Afghan National Army was proposed as a way for us to get our military out of that country without having to admit failure in our full objective.
I do not believe the Afghan National Army will be successful in bringing security and stability to that country which for eons has been fragmented by warlords, religious factions and fanatics, and even today widespread corruption at the highest levels of government.
As to the U.S. position in all this, we enter these situations out of anger with trust in our military might and sketchy knowledge as to what exactly we are getting into in trying to fight terrorism. We expect the sheer weight of our great military to “win the day.” It does not work and will not work anymore, in my opinion, against terrorist-style adversaries who are virtually immune to U.S. grand military strategies born of two world wars plus other military forays.
We are a proud nation but a rather naive nation, it seems to me, which has built its global position upon its military might. That era is ending, as I see it, and we don't yet know how to extricate ourselves from this “mind-set” and build a new national and international character.
That is essentially what I wrote in answer to the BBC request for comments. It is what I firmly believe. I also firmly believe in the great American spirit of creativity and freedom of thought, speech and action to actually bring a new “mind-set” forth in this great nation of ours and build a new national and international character. And it takes each of us working toward that goal in all that we think, say, and do.
Bob McClellan
Polson
