About that country where the Sept. 11 attackers were actually given safe harbor: We’re losing.
The top American commander in Afghanistan declared that the Taliban are winning in Afghanistan in a startling interview published Monday — a striking contrast to the “Mission Accomplished” rhetoric of the Bush Administration as regards Iraq.
His remarks appear carefully tailored to lower expectations and shift public opinion in support of operations in the war-torn country where few foreign powers have ever seen victory. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when they were routed by a US invasion.
Currently, US operations in Afghanistan cost taxpayers about $4 billion a month. That comes to roughly $133 million per day, or $5.5 million per hour.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, admitted that the Islamic fundamentalist group had gained the “upper hand” in Afghanistan, where the US has had a presence for the last eight years. Critics of the Bush Administration bemoaned the Administration’s diversion of troops to Iraq in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, saying that the reduced level of troops fostered a climate which allowed the Taliban and al Qaeda to regroup.
McChrystal’s interview also appeared designed to augment support for increasing troop levels in parts of Afghanistan. Since President Barack Obama took office, the Pentagon has increased the number of US troops in the country. The strategy described suggests a “hearts and minds” approach which favors securing civilian areas rather than focusing on full-frontal engagement with militants.
“It’s a very aggressive enemy right now,” the paper quoted Gen. McChrystal as saying. “We’ve got to stop their momentum, stop their initiative. It’s hard work.”
But, he says, things are grim: Taliban forces are expanding their presence in areas beyond their usual bases in southern Afghanistan to areas north and west.
