We Have A Winner: The Worst Rationale For Staying in Afghanistan Posted by Michael Cohen

It would be foolish on my part to expect a cogent and rational explanation from Danielle Pletka as to why the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting, but this entry defies even her low standards:

Poor Afghanistan, so lacking in succor for the self-righteous. No Jews oppressing Muslims, no apartheid, no Islamists starving Africans. Angelina Jolie doesn't seem to care. It isn't even Iraq. It's no longer the good war, the one worth winning, as it was during the elections. And when Cindy Sheehan and George Will agree it's time to get out, can a hasty retreat be far behind?

Worse still, for those who believe victory is worth achieving in Afghanistan, it's not easy to pinpoint what victory looks like. It never has been. Nonetheless, Afghanistan has both strategic and moral value to the United States. And it is wise to remember that the price of failure is horribly high. We have failed before in Afghanistan and betrayed the trust of Afghans who believed America cared about them. After two decades and the rise of an al Qaeda homeland, we paid the price.

Now we have a chance to cement a better system into place in Afghanistan. It won't be easy, and the price will continue to escalate. But it is a lie to suggest it will be possible through remote counterterrorism operations; as in Iraq, security on the ground and faith in the future are the best antidotes to insurgents. Real victory is attainable; a real Afghan national army is being slowly empowered; and though the elections were a disappointment to many, they remain a model of suffrage compared to the past. We are progressing slowly, but we are progressing. And capitulating to the Taliban is unthinkable.

Oy! I'll try to make this quick, but a few thoughts:

• Maintaining the trust of the Afghan people is more important than say maintaining the trust of the American people.
• Like Tony Cordesman, Danielle Pletka can't actually say what victory looks like in Afghanistan, but she has the goods on what defeat looks like.
• Real victory is attainable but it's not easy to pinpoint what victory looks like (her words not mine).
• Apparently it's a lie to suggest that remote CT operations would work in Afghanistan - but it's truth to suggest that counter-insurgency tactics will succeed.  
• All the Afghan people need is "faith in the future" - that will really show the Taliban.
• A real Afghan national army is being empowered - except of course in Helmand province where its US Marines and not Afghan soldiers fighting the Taliban.
• The price of failure is incredibly high, but the price of success doesn't merit consideration.

I could go on, but what's the point. I tend to believe that Danielle Pletka has a string attached to her back and when Washington Post editors pull it she spits out platitudes like "Capitulating to the Taliban is unthinkable." "We are progressing slowly, but we are progressing." "Cindy Sherman." "Angelina Jolie" "Cindy Sherman." "The price of failure is horribly high."

By the way, you got to love the Washington Post. They have a debate on whether the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting and they get 5 people who think it is and 1 who doesn't.

Way to keep it even-handed guys.

Comments

[Jay C]

Michael, I think in your next-to-last graf you mean "Cindy Sheehan" (that all-purpose joke-figure for the Right) not "Cindy Sherman" ( the artist )

Although, as you point out, given the cascade of cliche-laden generalities and portentious commonplaces in Pletka's piece, one might serve just as well as the other.

Too bad, because US policy towards Afghanistan (though generally buried under media BS over other matters) is a deadly serious issue, and deserves a lot more scrutiny than it has received. Though Ms. Pletka's Parade-O-Platitudes definitely falls short.

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