A March of Folly

The Afghanistan war is turning into a march of folly

14 August 2010 - When the WikiLeaks exposé of raw United States intelligence data and reports from Afghanistan hit computers worldwide, commentators in Pakistan reacted with vitriolic broadsides. One spoke of “Neocon vampires … blood-thirsty Islamophobes … think tank irredentists … [Indian] revanchists … planning another dismemberment, so that they [can] continue their blood-fest in … Afghanistan.” Strong words, particularly when compared to US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who was only “mortified” and “appalled” by the leaks.

The leaks provoked such fiery debate because the United States-led fight against “jihadism” had suddenly run into an unexpected adversary: truth. Indeed, it now seems clear to anyone with eyes that the invasion of Afghanistan was built upon a great miscalculation: that Afghanistan could be successfully invaded.

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So, almost a decade after the war began, we are back to asking a basic question: toward what goal is this endeavor directed? If it is about countering terrorism, then why are the US and NATO not present in Yemen, Somalia, or Pakistan, which are increasingly terrorist havens? Or is the war in Afghanistan really now about countering the insurgents fighting Hamid Karzai’s government? Continued