Yet another “new” strategy in Afghanistan said to be a “game-changer.” And, thus, the enhanced pounding of the Taliban from the air joins the long list of supposedly conflict-altering strategies employed by the United States in Afghanistan for almost 17 years.
This shift in policy supposedly signals to the Taliban that the United States is “here to stay.” But the game remains the same. U.S. casualty totals continue to mount; billions in U.S. resources are expended; U.S. strategic capital is surrendered to Russia and China; and the Taliban forces wait. They wait because they know that U.S. policymakers will eventually conclude that there exists no viable strategic purpose for an indefinite U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan based on the post-9/11 contention that such a presence represents the only effective means by which to deter future Afghan-based terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. They wait because they know that, despite its best efforts, the United States will never succeed in fostering a functioning democracy in Afghanistan. They wait because, as noted by the Center on International Cooperation’s Barnett Rubin, they cannot leave their country, and the United States can and ultimately will.
This piece originally appeared in The Washington Post on January 22, 2018. Original link.
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