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Jewish World Review May 21, 2009 / 27 Iyar Will we know if Afghan mission succeeds? By E. Thomas McClanahan
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My question was simple: "Can we win in With that, any sense of clarity was a lost hope. The question was directed at a roomful of mid-career military officers, all clad in gray-green camo. Most were I was one of a group of visitors last week that included another We sat in a room with a mottled blue carpet and light gray walls. Several gray metal desks had been pushed together in the center of the room. What struck me was that the SAMS officers didn't seem to know much more than we did about the Obama administration's Well, that's the way President Obama deserves credit for taking this stand and ordering a surge of 21,000 troops to boost existing totals. But to me, keeping al-Qaeda out implies more than this simple mission statement suggests. Success will require a certain amount of "nation building." The Afghan challenge may prove more daunting than Worse, our main supply line runs through contested parts of Our visit to Fort Leavenworth came a day after the Obama administration announced the firing of the top commander in The press coverage was full of the sort of contradictory speculation that crops up when reporters are dealing with an information vacuum. An AP analysis the next day took a completely different tack. The writer concluded it was unlikely McChrystal's new posting portended a new strategy. Rather, the Pentagon was merely hoping a shake-up would lead to better implementation of the existing strategy. Maj. Which brought us back to the original question, What's the strategy? Someone made the point that you can't fix A recent piece from Stratfor, a private group of analysts, discussed the feasibility of coming to an agreement with the Taliban. If the Taliban "agree to block al-Qaida operations in But Stratfor also noted that Gen. Bing West, a former Marine and assistant defense secretary, sensibly argued recently that the best course was not to seek accommodation with the Taliban but to build up the Afghan army — and even give it a role in the country's governance. It's the country's "most trusted institution." It's more reliable than the Afghan police or civilian bureaucracy. But that will take time. Whatever the strategy, success in Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
E. Thomas McClanahan is a member of the Kansas City Star editorial board. Comment by clicking here.
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