<<The outcome of Afghanistan has exceeded my expectations>>
Me too, at first. I was surprised that the Taliban collapsed so quickly.
But, I have become less optimistic, recently. The problem is, there doesn't seem to be any exit strategy. Afghanistan is like a Tar-Baby; we can't get out and preserve any of our gains. If we withdraw our military, then the warlords return to their endless fighting, and our enemies can use that chaos to re-establish their safe havens. OTOH, if we stay there, with every passing month, we look more and more like a permanent army of occupation, and less and less like liberators. If we stay there long enough, we will eventually incite a nationalist response, and be fighting a guerrila war we can't win, any more than the Brits or Soviets could. History is strongly against the idea that a foreign power can rule, or even have any influence, in Afghanistan. Alexander The Great (Butcher) is the exception, not the rule. |
