The Only Real Strategy for Afghanistan

There has been quite a bit of criticism directed at President Obama for his handling – or mishandling – of the Afghan theater in the global conflict with radical Islamists. To be certain, it should be the number one or, at the very least, number two item on his list of priorities. That it is not is deserving of criticism.

---

But the catalyst for this dysfunctional thinking emanates from the reality that we, as a nation, don't have a proper understanding of the conflict at hand and, therefore, have very different opinions – some based in fact but most influenced by ideology – as to the consequences of implementing the wrong strategy. During the 2008 presidential campaign, then candidate Barack Obama identified the Afghan theater as the only “legitimate” military theater in which the US military was engaged. He did so in a politicized attempt to paint the Iraqi theater as illegitimate; an optional battle theater championed by his opponent. Whether or not you agree with that belief is irrelevant to the fact that Mr. Obama identified the Afghan theater as being “the good war.” This declaration, along with his promise to support the generals on the ground, intimated that he was going to respect the judgments and opinions of the field commanders with regard to strategy and assessment. That understood, it really shouldn't be too much for the American people to expect their president to follow through on his campaign promises.

The Enemy

Ongoing military campaign aside, we have never really accurately profiled the enemy and therefore have never really been about to honestly contemplate a successful strategy for achieving victory in not only the Afghan theater but in the overall global conflict with radical Islamists. More...