Tonight Rachel Maddow had as a guest one of the really brilliant military and international relations minds in our nation: Andrew Bacevich. He is Professor of International Relations and History, Boston University. (BS, United States Military Academy; MA, PhD, Princeton).
His latest book has received rave reviews. It is called "The Limits of Power: American Exceptionalism." (2008)
His August 15 interview on Bill Moyers Journal is one of the great pieces of television journalism. You can watch that interview HERE. It is recorded in two video segments.
This post is not about Becevich per se. But you will much better understand the alternatives facing us in the so-called "War on Terror" if you watch that interview.
This post is similar to several like it that have been raised here on OS long before I became a member of this community. Unfortunately, they raised very little interest. This one may not either. But it can't hurt to try.
We are soon going to be in Afghanistan as long as the Soviet Union was, before they lost and backed out of that nation. Our main understanding of their misadventures there is, unfortunately, either essentially nonexistent or based on a good, but misleading movie, "Charlie Wilson's War." I like Tom Hanks but please don't assume that this docudrama hews very close to the truth.
The truth is that no one has ever invaded Afghanistan and won. Never. And there is no reason to assume that we will win a military victory there, with or without adding more troops on the ground.
President-Elect Obama campaigned on getting out of Iraq and increasing our presence in Afghanistan, and, as necessary, taking the fight into Pakistan.
Pakistan is an unstable nuclear country, largely ungovernable in its northwestern provinces closest to Afghanistan, and less than keen on our recent military incursions, supposedly in hot persuit, into those territories. Mr. Obama supports such activities in principle, on the grounds that we are taking the fight to Osama Bin Laden. Of course we do not know where Bin Laden is, but that doesn't seem to deter us.
Meanwhile, we are not only subjected to the increasing death and wounding of our own troops but, as in Iraq, many, many innocent civilians are being killed, by us by what we call accidents, and by the Taliban and tribal leaders, some of whom are said to be controlled by Al Quaeda. It has been said by more than one critic of the war that, by these actions, we are helping create more terrorists than we are killing.
Even with more troops on the ground we will make little progress without eliminating the poppy production which is the back bone of the Afghan economy. Many members of the current Afghan government are supportive of this drug trade and receive kick backs for allowing it. We have shown no willingness to insist on eliminating the poppy trade in exchange for our presence there. God forbid we were to put that to a vote because most Afghans want us to leave anyway.
It eludes me why we would move troops out of the charade that has been our occupation of Iraq to send them to Afghanistan. We need to bring them HOME! How many tours of duty will be extended and how many additional tours will we be adding on to the backs of these brave soldiers? We are stretched thin as it is and the logistics of warfare in the mountains of Afghanistan is a nightmare. Ask the Russians.
Finally, let me raise some very difficult questions. Are we actually doing all this to catch Osama Bin Laden? What price are we willing to pay to do that? If we are actually trying to catch or kill Bin Laden aren't there better ways to do it? Who is asking these questions and who is providing any honest answers?
I would like to think that our military policy and actions will be more intelligent under an Obama presidency. But I can't see that coming based on the rhetoric of the campaign. Yet, what other guide do we have to determine if anything will be really any different? By the time of the election both Obama and McCain were talking almost the same strategy for Afghanistan. That does not give me any comfort.
To steal a phrase from Rachel: Will somebody please talk me down on this one?
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