It has been eight years since the United States first sent troops to Afghanistan in an effort to halt the Taliban from spreading harm across the world. Recently, General Stanley McChrystal has rethought the position of American troops and the strategy behind winning a war that seems endless.
The New Strategy
Troops are no longer seeking to penetrate areas where the Taliban hides and plans, striking down each and every member of its force. Instead, soldiers are striving to gain the trust of Afghan citizens in an effort to get them involved in their own protection. Knowing how to protect themselves and to drive the enemy out of their region is important in helping them regain their independence.
President Obama’s Role
President Obama understands that destroying al-Qaida will probably never happen but protecting Afghan society against future threats is the key to taking back the country. Pressured by military recommendations, opponents and allies in the political arena and allied nations that have promised to send their own troops, Obama knows that there is only one way to win and that is to break the culture of corruption in the country
Our Allies and their Thoughts
Recently, Obama met with India’s Prime Minister in an effort to perceive what future actions India felt necessary to fight the war against terror. Indian PM Manmohan Singh made his thoughts very clear in expressing that a failure to secure Afghanistan would be a devastating blow to the international community. Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the UK also believes that further action in Afghanistan is vital.
The Taliban’s Strength
The Taliban only has 20,000 to 35,000 active fighters in Afghanistan but the group has been improving their tactics over the past eight years in order to gain control, not only in the southern part of the country, but now in the west and north. The American strategy to think and move faster than the enemy by preventing attacks against civilians appears to be working but is it soon enough or strong enough?
What will Obama Do?
Are the options of sending more troops to help turn around each area of Afghanistan, holding to the status quo or to start bringing troops home really the only choices? There are many who feel that eight years is long enough to try to win a war and that Afghanistan should now be left to its own devices. Others want to just keep doing what we have been doing, standing guard. But whether anyone wants to admit the truth or not, no one wants the Taliban to gain strength and continue to dominate other areas.
Obama will send in more troops because it is the only politically expedient option. The only question is whether it is too little and too late. This writer, a Colorado Springs counselor, is skeptical that we will find more than a muddle-through strategy. No good strategies probably mean more lost lives for little purpose.
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