President Bush: The War on Terror-Afghanistan

So now we move from the “Bad War” to the “Good War” (as many have dubbed them) in the discussion of the War on Terror.

Back in October of 2001, nobody really questioned going into Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban, Al-Qaeda’s main support system; and really, after 9/11 how could anyone have?

My only question was, “what took so long”? Operation Enduring Freedom began on October 7, nearly four weeks after the September 11 attacks. Not that I think we stalled, but I’m still a bit surprised we didn’t attack a little sooner.

Once again, the military campaign to oust the Taliban was superbly conducted. Kabul fell in five weeks, the vast majority of Taliban and Al-Qaeda officials were either killed or captured and the beginnings of an Afghani democracy began to take root.

For over six years, Afghanistan was more or less doing fairly well. There were real improvements in the daily life of Afghan citizens. Local communities strengthened their economies and created jobs, an actual democratic governance began to rule and key infrastructure such as roads, bridges, hospitals and schools were built.

In addition, education and human rights were vastly improved, especially for women. More than six million children, approximately two million of them girls, are now in Afghan schools, compared to fewer than one million in 2001. Women are no longer barred from reading, voting of showing their face in public. In fact, women are members of the Afghan government, something, literally, unheard of under the Taliban’s reign of terror.

However, as impressive as these gains are, they are in danger of being reversed. The last quarter of 2008 showed the beginning of a disintegration of the situation in Afghanistan, due to a recent up tick in violence and a resurgent Taliban.

Most critics of President Bush will say that these recent events are due to him taking his eye off Afghanistan to focus on Iraq and I think that’s a totally misinformed assumption to make.

The U.S. has continuously and aggressively fought side-by-side with Afghans and our allies to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We have provided nearly $32 billion for security, political and economic development assistance since 2001, so it’s not like we merely came in, bombed and left them to their own devices.

I think these people are merely responding to a decrease in the media’s coverage of Afghanistan. Because Afghanistan wasn’t in the limelight of the American media it must not have been a major concern for President Bush is the conclusion they must be making.

Obviously, that’s a bunch of rubbish if you ask me.

Now that’s not to say that I believe the Afghan situation has been flawless. The failure to capture or kill Osama bin Laden has been very disheartening. I realize that he may be dead and that even if he isn’t; he’s been rendered almost completely useless. Still, the fact that we have not, officially, brought him to justice must be a major disappointment to President Bush.

My other major complaint with our dealings in Afghanistan is the way we have dealt with Pakistan. Pakistan’s complete inability to secure its border and prosecute or kill the remaining Taliban and Al-Qaeda members living in the country is probably the primary reason our successes in Afghanistan are threatened, yet we continue to handle them with kid gloves.

I realize that their government faces a difficult task, however, they’ve had over seven years to get their act straight and they have failed to do so. In those seven years we have provided billions upon billions in aid, political assistance and military training and we have nothing to show for it. It is time for us to tell Pakistan that they need to start showing results and if they don’t, the gravy train that is our support and aid can go to other countries like India and they can help us prosecute this War on Terror.

Overall, Afghanistan has been a success. Sure, we face difficulties there and our successes can be erased, however I have no doubts in the ability of our military and political leaders to develop and implement a plan that will allow us to claim a final victory.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll continue to read the stories that Afghanistan is a lost cause and that the Taliban will prove too resilient for our forces. When you read those, I only ask you to remember what the “experts” were saying about Iraq a mere two years ago.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John