"A republic, if you can keep it." Vegas, taxes.
"A republic, if you can keep it." Vegas, taxes.
McChrystal and Eikenberry's plan for measuring progress is absolutely required if we care at all about the truth in Afghanistan. However, the variable in this plan is not necessarily the ability to produce these assessments, but access to the reliable, accurate information sources which provide the backbone of these assessments.
A US withdrawal does not mean abandoning the Afghans. Afghanistan suffers from too much foreign meddling, not a lack of it. And through all of it, the Afghans themselves remain completely helpless to the fate of their own country.
Answer: Zero. The military shouldn't even be involved in Afghanistan. If we want to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan, we need sustainable, civilian-only solutions.
An honest 420 look at marijuana in Afghanistan. There is definitely a huge drug problem, and our strategy seems to be the cause of it. Our allies that we desperately rely on are all high on drugs, selling drugs, or both. And not only are we paying for it, people are dying because of it.
America is pursuing its goals in Pakistan by engaging in a Strategic Dialogue with a military dictator who uses terrorism to fuel conflict with India. But unlike the Pakistani and Pashtun people, you have a voice in this Strategic Dialogue.