I'm not convinced that we have gained much of anything by our invasion of Afghanistan. Yes, we have killed some Al Qaida fighters, but there are plenty of recruits where those came from. Their camps in Afghanistan are destroyed, but they have more camps in other countries and plenty of money to build more. The same resources, I think, could have been employed much more productively in directly targeting Al Qaida leaders, momey sources, knocking out camps from long distance, etc.
On the downside, we have spent a lot of money and will spend a lot more pacifying the country, we have incited many fundamentalist Muslims, particularly Pakistanis, to join the Al Qaida cause, our military is preoccupied wth a virtually endless task.
Overall, minimal gain as far as I can see. |
