Back to the Past

Gen. David Roberts, the British commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan has predicted that 70 percent of Afghans will switch allegiance to the Taliban, if the government and its supporting western forces cannot improve the security situation markedly in the next six months.

And how are we to do this with United States forces--not to mention energy and money--absorbed by Iraq?

The tale of bungling that allowed the Taliban and Osama bin-Laden to escape the noose that American and Afghan forces had fashioned for them in late 2001 has been too-often told. Unfortunately, the scope of the disaster is only now becoming apparent.

Let's be clear that final victory in Afghanistan was never a mere matter of more troops or keeping large forces there for a longer period of time. Afghans, a proud people, have always resented and opposed foreign forces, and they have always prevailed. Thus, any military commitment to the country had to be limited in time. This is not a truth that the Bush administration ever gave a sign of acknowledging; the reduction of American forces was a coincidental result of the ramping up for Iraq. What has been even more important than the draining of forces before the battle was truly won has been the diversion of American attention (and non-military resources) that, with care, could have given a moderate government a real chance of success.

The situation is not beyond hope, yet. But there is no indication that the administration has the will, initiative or creativity to take the steps necessary to seize victory from the encroaching jaws of defeat.