Afghanistan: To be, or not to be…
General McChrystal, our top military leader in Afghanistan, has asked for more troops to stave off ultimate failure.
And there’s a growing chorus of voices, mostly on the left, but some on the right as well, who look at history and see Afghanistan as the place where empires go to die. And rightfully so.
But, I would remind the naysayers of some simple differences between our situation and all the conquerors throughout history who met their match in that barren terrain.
We can’t change how we got there, nor what we’ve done and not done since we’ve gotten there. But there’s three key factors at play in Afghanistan today that will mark the difference between our victory and our defeat, as evidenced by an ongoing threat to American citizens, soil, and interests abroad by the very terrorism that led us to the Hindu Kush to begin with.
Each of these factors can only be harnessed if we follow through with enough troops to see the mission through.
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