A Commentary on The War in Afghanistan

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As an Army Veteran, I  think I have something to say on this issue. DO NOT GET ME WRONG, I am a staunch supporter of our military, and All of our service members anywhere and everywhere overseas, but this war is, as history has shown, un-winnable.

 Like all Americans, the events of 9/11 PROFOUNDLY horrified me to my core.  Never have I seen something so base and inhuman as the events of that day. I, too want vengeance for my fallen countrymen. The man (Osama Bin-Laden) who masterminded and financed this act MUST PAY. I just don’t see how we can get him without an inordinate loss of American lives on the ground.

 Not only are we looking for him, and by that, I mean him and any members of Al Queda, we are also helping the the embattled Afghan government of Hamid Karzi fight the extremist Taliban who have their tentacles stretched throughout the country. Not to mention un-allied regional warlords, AND the opium drug trade that thousands of poor Afghan farmers rely on simply to feed their families. And let’s not forget the Pakistani government and military that may or may not have a hand in aiding and abetting all of what I just mentioned. That adds up to one shitload of work to do. Perhaps Too much.

 If history has taught us anything, it is that ANY foreign power that has invaded Afghanistan is going to leave with a black eye, and a lot of one generation lost to a war that is, for any reason, unwisely undertaken. Ask Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the British empire, and, most recently, the Soviet Union. They would more than likely agree.

 Afghan’s, for the most part, as I have read and understand, do not trust, and have not trusted any central government imposed on them due to rampant corruption and whatever current administration’s policy’s are toward the varied ethnic and tribal races. Not to mention feuds between tribes that in some cases have lasted hundreds of years. All are fiercely independent and proud. What they do have in common, is when a foreign power invades, as what happened to the Soviet Union in the 1980’s, they all set aside their various differences and concentrate on the invader, much to it’s dismay.

It is into this hugely complicated situation that we have walked  to get one man, and help, at best, an unpopular government. let us all hope that we can do the job that we set out to do, and get out without loosing an entire generation of our best and brightest.