Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

U.S. should finish the job

Numerous delectable topics invite comment, such as NFL hating Limbaugh while loving Vick, NAACP dictating elimination of an historical flag, Joe Wilson telling truth when saying "you lie," Nobel Prize swooning to junk bond level, David Letterman operating a studio brothel while cheekily criticizing Sarah Palin, White House staff thumbing noses at Fox News. But these are distractions that the Obama administration would like us to concentrate on rather than their major flagging issues. Afghanistan, where life and death is a daily concern for our brave and dedicated military is now a flagging issue.

Supposedly a great debate rages within the Obama administration as neophyte military experts try to decide if General McChrystal's request for more troops in Afghanistan should be granted. Some want to give up and pull out, others propose leaving a small force to perform special missions, and professional military people support McChrystal's request.

There are really only two options, do the job or get out altogether, because history shows that a small force trying to operate for an extended period in a completely hostile environment, which Afghanistan would quickly become, while subject to dithering political control, is an invitation to disaster. Example: In 1885 the British Government sent highly respected General Charles "Chinese" Gordon to Sudan, where he decided not to abandon the country to the Mahdian dervishes of Mohammed Ahmed and asked London for reinforcements. While London procrastinated, Gordon was trapped in a fortress and forced to direct a ten-month defense of Khartoum. Two days before relief arrived, Gordon and his entire command were slaughtered.

Those who support leaving: "When we invaded Afghanistan in 2001, our goal was to remove the Taliban from government and eliminate al-Qaida. The Taliban government was forcibly removed, and al-Qaida has moved to other countries." This standard implies that George Bush's approach was successful and the job is done. Unfortunately this premise ignores the fact that removal of Taliban created a political void we are obligated to fill until a reliable, functioning, self-sustaining government is in place.

Our history shows that failure to meet a challenge and complete the job once it's started has resulted in dire consequences. Had the Korean War been taken to a satisfactory conclusion, as General MacArthur recommended, there would not be a nuclear weapons threat in North Korea today. Had we completed the job in Vietnam, millions of people slaughtered after we left would still be alive. Now , we are morally obligated to complete the job in Afghanistan. Failure to do so will put many Afghans, who've tasted freedom, at great risk and our failure will eventually come back to haunt us.