General Stanley
McChrystal, with a little help from
Rolling Stone, gave twenty-first century America a glimpse of what it fears most: The Truth.
Yes, capitalized.
The Truth is is that the war in Afghanistan has slid into the
FUBAR stage--that is Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. Stan
McChrystal sacrificed his career to tell everyone back home what the
politicians will not say.
Back in 2001 when the US first intervened in Afghanistan in the wake of the horrible tragedy of September 11, the plan was to overthrow the Taliban with mostly Special Forces and rebuild the Afghan government as a friendly one or at least neutralized as a potential terrorist haven. In 2001, the Pentagon decreed there would be no more that 15,000 US troops in Afghanistan as to avoid creating an overbearing American "footprint."
When you look at the history of the place, this plan comes across as very wise. The British overran Afghanistan twice in the nineteenth century and left with tribesman shooting at them every step of the way and the 1979 Soviet invasion ended with a terse announcement from the Kremlin a decade later that the 100,000 troops Moscow had committed were coming home.
The year 2010 is America's tenth year in Afghanistan and the number of soldiers
incountry is matching the level of Russian manpower and frustration.
The
Karzai government is corrupt and the Afghan army is unreliable and prone to defections. Tribal loyalties trump any feeling of nationalism and the Taliban has a
sanctuary across the border in Pakistan.
If they need it. They seem to be in control of
Kandahar, the nation's second largest city, despite the US presence.
There are two major points that many people seem to be missing when it comes to Afghanistan. It is understandable because it is not like anywhere else in the world.
I once heard an officer exclaim, "How does this bloody country operate?"
That is the first mistake. Afghanistan is not a country in the conventional sense of the word. It is a patchwork of warring tribes that was drawn together in a Victorian parlor because there was an empty space on the map. "Afghans" do not regard others in what we call "Afghanistan" as fellow countrymen but as members of other tribes.
Secondly. warfare is
completely normal in Afghanistan. It has been that way for thousands of years. The fighting that is always roiling the countryside has nothing to do with
Islam or the West or even terrorism. It is about the opium fields.
Afghanistan is South Central LA located in South Central Asia.
That brings us to US motives for being there.
Are American troops really there to create a democracy in Afghanistan or is there another purpose in mind? Could it have something to do with the oil in Central Asia and the Chinese and Russian competitors for it?
The shame is is that all we have accomplished is create a new generation of recruits for the Taliban and push the Russians and Chinese together in the contest for oil in Central Asia.
When the Cold War ended, there was a unique
opportunity for America to befriend Russia and bring the former Soviet Union into Europe as a friend. The Russians had the access and influence in Central Asia and we had the capital to improve on that. A US-Russian partnership would have secured the oil there and forced the Chinese out or become a partner too.
Instead, as is normal in this
disappointing century so far, greed won out over common sense and moderation and now all we reap is failure.
Hopefully, General
Patreus can pull this out of the fire like Iraq in 2007.
Thank you for telling us the truth, General
McChrystal.
And good luck General
Patreus.
You are going to need it.
