Organizing for America | John Minehan's Blog: Afghanistan

Afghanistan

By John Minehan - Sep 24th, 2009 at 10:48 am EDT

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A few thoughts on Afghanistan:

---Afghanistan is a supporting attack; an operational fixing attack, not unlike the Italian Campaign in WWII.

---Commanders of supporting attacks always want more resources, just as MacArthur did in the Pacific or Mark Clark did in Italy in WWII.

---Sometimes, those commanders see genuine operational or strategic opportunity, which should be exploited. Most often they don't.

---This is an ethical issue. We are asking our fellow citizens to risk death or crippling injuries in an effort that is less important than others.

---This may be necessary. However, Monte Cassinos or Rapido Rivers are not necessary.

---MacArthur understood this. Mark Clark did not. There are, in general, more Mark Clarks than Douglas MacArthurs.

---The heart of this mission is to destroy what remains of "Big AQ" in the Pakistani Border Regions. To do this, we need to control Afghanistan as a force projection platform and as a goad for some AQ and Taliban forces to become decisively engaged. Our presence in Afghanistan is also a signal of commitment to Pakistan and the "'Stans," the neighboring former-Soviet Islamic states.

---We will need to remain engaged in Afghanistan after a military solution to AQ is achieved. In part, this is to obviate the need for any future military solutions being needed.

---You can win a war against terrorist elements. You can also drive nails with a screwdriver handle. Neither is an optimal use of that particular tool.

---The non-military side of this may take years, maybe decades. The other side is more patient. They are more used to operating effectively on a shoe-string. However, at this level, this about fair courts, roads and clean water and they are better at it than the governments we are supporting: in Somalia and Iraq, not just in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

---If they grade the roads; run the credible courts; teach the kids; and collect the taxes, they ARE the government Our guys in Pakistan seem, per news items, to be waking up to this. I hope that spreads.

---It is ALL about the "L Word" (no, not THAT one): "Legitimacy."

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