A decade into the war in Afghanistan, our nation's goals in that campaign and definition of what would or should signify victory remain as vague as when we first came in to help overthrow the Taliban after 9/11.
A war lacking a clear goal, without a commonly shared vision of success, is a war that can all too easily stretch into decades. Our experience in Vietnam, where the only goal was to keep the totalitarian North from overrunning the South, should have showed for all time where poorly defined expectations lead in a war.
Given the lack of clear objectives, either military or political, in Afghanistan, we support congressional calls for creation of an independent commission on Afghanistan. The American people, and in particular our men and women in uniform (and their immediate families), deserve a coherent strategy.
Nobody wants to see the Taliban regain control of Afghanistan ---- although with the crippling of al-Qaida, the danger to our nation of a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is probably far less pressing than it was when Osama bin Laden was operating his terror training camps at the invitation of the previous Taliban regime.
But an independent commission could help determine whether what appears likely is actually so, and then offer this information to the Pentagon and White House.
There's history on the side of such a commission, too. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group came up with a set of suggestions for winding that war down successfully, with several of those recommendations adopted as policy by the Bush administration.
Clearly, having an extra set of eyes and minds looking at the stagnant efforts in Afghanistan can't hurt. We also like the suggestion of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R- El Cajon, that any such group also look at Pakistan's role in the region. Pakistan's military leaders have at best a dysfunctional relationship with their neighbor to the north and west, alternately helping Afghanistan's leaders and then undermining them by supporting Taliban elements in the border region.
There's no magic answer to be found in Afghanistan, but if even only one good idea that leads to concrete results comes out of a commission, it will save American lives. That's worth the effort.
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-afghan-goals-need-defining/article_f44380eb-f1d6-525d-bfcc-c58a4aa9a1e0.html#ixzz1it0Ei2Lw
A war lacking a clear goal, without a commonly shared vision of success, is a war that can all too easily stretch into decades. Our experience in Vietnam, where the only goal was to keep the totalitarian North from overrunning the South, should have showed for all time where poorly defined expectations lead in a war.
Given the lack of clear objectives, either military or political, in Afghanistan, we support congressional calls for creation of an independent commission on Afghanistan. The American people, and in particular our men and women in uniform (and their immediate families), deserve a coherent strategy.
Nobody wants to see the Taliban regain control of Afghanistan ---- although with the crippling of al-Qaida, the danger to our nation of a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is probably far less pressing than it was when Osama bin Laden was operating his terror training camps at the invitation of the previous Taliban regime.
But an independent commission could help determine whether what appears likely is actually so, and then offer this information to the Pentagon and White House.
There's history on the side of such a commission, too. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group came up with a set of suggestions for winding that war down successfully, with several of those recommendations adopted as policy by the Bush administration.
Clearly, having an extra set of eyes and minds looking at the stagnant efforts in Afghanistan can't hurt. We also like the suggestion of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R- El Cajon, that any such group also look at Pakistan's role in the region. Pakistan's military leaders have at best a dysfunctional relationship with their neighbor to the north and west, alternately helping Afghanistan's leaders and then undermining them by supporting Taliban elements in the border region.
There's no magic answer to be found in Afghanistan, but if even only one good idea that leads to concrete results comes out of a commission, it will save American lives. That's worth the effort.
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-afghan-goals-need-defining/article_f44380eb-f1d6-525d-bfcc-c58a4aa9a1e0.html#ixzz1it0Ei2Lw
