As the US continues to escalate the war in Afghanistan, the official position is that there are no timetables anymore, no deadlines. 17+ years into the conflict, any pretense of a quick ending has long since evaporated.
That does not, however, mean that the Pentagon isn’t feeling pressure, as preposterous claims of “progress” ring as hollow today as they did in 2004, or 2013, or any other time in the war. The US may feel comfortable committing to decades more of the same, but NATO allies that keep getting dragged in for a new escalation are increasingly skeptical that there is a real endgame.
Pentagon leaders are desperate to show that something is different this time around, and that they aren’t just spinning their wheels in Afghanistan, even though that’s really what’s happening. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joe Dunford insists that this year will be “fundamentally different” from the last 17 years of US war in Afghanistan.
Notably absent from Gen. Dunford’s assurances is any concrete change. Instead he just vaguely claims that “the right people” are in place and that the US remains committed. It’s hard to imagine that the Pentagon would’ve ever admitted to having the “wrong people” in place in Afghanistan in the last 17 years, however.
Claims are progress are unchanging throughout the Afghan War, and empty as ever, with less and less territory under the control of the Afghan government. The constant immediate goal of the Afghan War is, as ever, to maintain the illusion of progress, so as to prevent any up-swell in demand to end the conflict.
Fundamentally different? The only fundamental difference is leaving.
It would be different if we invited the Russians back in to defeat the jihadist The Russians know how to do it
Except, the Russians aren’t supposed to defeat the jihadsts; they’re supposed to twist in the wind in a Soviet Afghanistan II. Or so Obama hoped back in 2015 when the Russian intervention caught the U.S. by surprise.
“Obama warns Russia’s Putin of ‘quagmire’ in Syria” – Alistair Bell, Tom Perry, Oct.3, 2015, Reuters. com.
Its been extensively covered before; the U.S. is supporting the very jihadists its supposedly opposing.
“Now the truth emerges: how the US fuelled the rise of Isis in Syria and Iraq” – Seumas Milne, June 3, 2015, TheGuardian. com
Why don’t we progress to the door, then attempt to learn something from this sad episode.
After we win liberation for the Taliban do you think they will come to the USA and win liberation and freedom for us . If they should this do you think they will be well received .
I think the Taliban has zero interest in attacking America, it was their guests Al Queada that attacked us. They wont’ follow us home. Did the Viet Cong follow us home? No, they won their country and stayed there.
Breitbart was all over the administration this week, about Afghanistan and the burgeoning Taliban presence. it’s more credible than the US Army PR department in Kabul.
Pentagon leaders are desperate to show that something is different this time around, turning the corner — hah
*Nov 10, 2017: Gen. John Nicholson: “Yes, I think the conditions are set for success. [Afghan] President [Ashraf] Ghani has said he believes we are turning a corner, and I agree.”
memories of General John Campbell:
*Feb 2, 2016: Campbell: “Afghanistan is at an inflection point”
*Oct 5, 2015: Campbell: “Where they [ANA] were just a couple of years ago to where they are today is pretty astounding.”
*Feb 12, 2015: Campbell: “[Resolute Support] represents a significant paradigm shift.”
*Dec 29, 2014: Campbell: “What a change from the day that President Ghani took over.”
*Dec 28, 2014: Campbell: “we can see that Afghanistan and our Coalition are at a critical turning point.”
*Dec 28, 2014: Obama: “2014, therefore, is a pivotal year. Together with our allies and the Afghan government, we have agreed that this is the year we will conclude our combat mission in Afghanistan.”
*Dec 23, 2014: General Campbell: 2014 proved to be a time of critical transition in Afghanistan
—–also see Campbell suck-suck earlier:
* May 9, 2011: MajGen John Campbell: “But I really do think that as people look back, and they’ll say 2010 was the year in Afghanistan. It’s the year that we finally put more resources in here. We had the right leadership [Petraus], the right strategy. And I think that was a turning point.”
heck,let’s go back further–
* January 27, 2004: “A statement from U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad called the enactment of the constitution a ‘turning point for the Afghan nation.’”
* February 26, 2003: “The growing aggressiveness by guerrillas is a relief for US forces, who greet the possibility of a real engagement with the Taliban as a possible turning point in the war. ‘We want them to attack us, so we can engage them and destroy them,’ says one Special Forces soldier from the US firebase at Spin Boldak, who took part in the initial firefight that led to Operation Mongoose.