Eight Plus Ten

Listening to the radio news the other day, my attention was seized by a commentator's report that some in the US Armed Forces believe we might be in Afghanistan for as long as ten more years.

Pardon me? TEN MORE YEARS ?

If I am not mistaken, we've already been there for nearly eight long and bloody years. Another ten of those can hardly be contemplated.

I recall our leaders back in late '01 and early '02 telling us we would go in there, straighten things out, get the populace (a sturdy and resilient bunch) back into good trim, and then get the hell out. I remember them bristling with indignation when anyone suggested we'd be there for more than a year, let alone three, five, or (unthinkable) eight.

I remember talk of self-reliance. After all, native Afghan militias run by friendly warlords did most of the Taliban butt-kicking, with a little help from US air support. There was no talk of any US troop requirements long term. We were just there to find Bin Laden and cart him off to Gitmo.

But somehow, while we were focused on the morass of Iraq, things changed in Afghanistan. Or, the false reality we were fed was lifted to reveal the truth of the matter. Or, the reality was changed to suit someone's best interest (but not ours). No matter why, things were suddenly different, and instead of the done deal we thought it was, the little country that has thwarted invaders for thousands of years has retaken center stage as our thorniest problem.

Luckily, this problem can be de-thorned and resolved quite quickly. Simply stated, let's get out of there as fast as our planes, trucks, and ships can move us. Say 'Goodbye and Thanks for All the Dust' to that corrupt guy Karzai and pick up our chips and leave the table.

Tough as it is to walk away from all that effort, to leave all that human sacrifice of lives and time unrequited, it is better to do so than suffer through ten more years. We do not want or need another decade of our presence irritating the locals into ever deeper levels of mistrust and hatred, until there's not a US sympathizer left and all hope of a positive US influence on the region has been dashed.

Let's back way and take a different tack. Allow the Afghanis to work out their government as they see fit, and when they do, step in with help and aid in rebuilding their country (or building it in the first place - heck, we have lots of unemployed engineers right now). Or, if we find the government they form distasteful, we can just leave them alone and focus our efforts on helping Pakistan and India (i.e., the guys with the nukes), and, lest we forget, Iraq.

Eight Plus Ten? Fool Us Once, But Not Again ...