Posted on 10/18/2015 5:55:13 PM PDT by Jyotishi
Donald Trump is right: America's leaders are stupid. They're nothing but a bunch of losers. Well, at least when it comes to Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's the only conclusion to be reached following two big developments this week.
The first was President Barack Obama's announcement that the United States will decelerate its military drawdown from Afghanistan. Instead of preserving only a small force of about 1,000 troops, the new plan will station 9,800 in the country until 2016 and 5,500 into 2017. Their mission will be limited to training Afghan forces and supporting counterterrorism operations. This will help promote, in Obama's words, an "Afghan-led reconciliation process" leading to a "lasting political settlement" that will make Kabul "a stable and committed ally."
If that sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. The new policy is at best a band-aid and -- given the likely cost in blood and treasure -- not a pain-free one. David Galula, the French military scholar who is the ideological godfather of the U.S. counterinsurgency, understood years ago that support from a neighboring country could easily sustain an insurgency. The U.S. mission in Afghanistan cannot succeed as long as the Pakistan Army continues to tolerate and sponsor the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network, and other terrorist groups. The U.S. intelligence community has been saying precisely that for years.
At one level, Obama appreciates the problem. "Sanctuaries for the Taliban and other terrorists must end," he said on Oct. 15, adding that he would discuss the matter with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he visits Washington next week. The White House and the U.S. foreign-policy establishment still believe that Islamabad just needs to be convincingly persuaded about the merits of cracking down on terrorist organizations.
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
Their mission will be limited to having soebarkah set them up as targets.
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