It's a matter of cause and effect.
I take a minority viewpoint as to "cause", but came about that position through honest labor, study and experience. Might be wrong, but I'm comfortable with that possibility.
Therefore we take different positions on potential Effects as well as Cures. Quite reasonable.
But remember, those who based in Afghanistan to attack the US were largely Saudis. Don't try to understand the US-Afghan relationship to determine why citizens of Saudi Arabia would be compelled to launch suicidal attacks against the U.S.; you must study the U.S. - Saudi relationship to understand that one.
This is way bigger than Afghanistan, who like Poland, Israel and several other places in the world gets sucked into conflicts primarily because it is either key terrain in of itself or is merely the easiest way to get from Point A to Point B.
Like I said before, we have had massive mission creep in Afghanistan. If it was simply a matter of COIN we would have been helping the Taliban against the Northern Alliance. No, it was about U.S. interests there, and while the interests probably have not changed much, we keep changing our mind as to how best service those interests. I offer that General Robert's 130 year-old advice is still a valid COA to keep in mind.
As an aside, I made my final presentation to the morning brief here today. Again, just one man's insights:
Bookmarks