U.S Gen. Stanley McChrystal
General McChrystal is honest, forthright, dedicated and the list goes on. I have not witnessed in any other commander or general in the eight years in Afghanistan with this level of pure dedication to country and purpose. I believe he walks the talk and I believe he has the troops in mind when he issues opinion to his staff. He is well credentialed in defeating the men that would see civilization destroyed. He has successfully confronted the 'terrible' and brought them to justice or death.
He's right. I remember an assessment of Afghanistan by Representative John Murtha whom stated it would require 600,000 troops to be successful in Afghanistan. That seemed like such an unrealistic number, but, in his interview on CBS, General McChrystal stated, Afghanistan needs to have a fighting force of 400,000 of their own troops.
A fighting force of 400,000 Afghanistan troops isn't assembled overnight. It takes many people to recruit and train them.
In an interview today, Secretary Gates stated that last time there was a 'strategy' for Afghanistan was 1980. That is a lot of neglect. There was no real strategy for Afghanistan following September 11, 2001. There was a 'holding' pattern to make the Karzai government seem intact.
When President Obama ordered a strategy for Afghanistan little did anyone realize how much the Taliban had reconstituted its opposition to an organized government. President Obama, Secretary Gates went forward with the idea of securing the democracy in Afghanistan by hoping to succeed with elections. Little did anyone realize, the only 'surviving democracy' in Afghanistan was a Constitution and a exoskeleton of an infrastructure. Basically, President Karzai was a figure head to the issues of the country and the sincere structure of this democracy was gutted by violence as the Taliban were allowed to plunder Afghanistan with the cooperation of a very weak President/General Musharraf.
The corruption that besets Afghanistan is a direct result of the violence. Anarchy in a warlord domain is perfect for developing power brokers of 'mini-nations' of ethnic groups within the borders of the country. In order to stop the corruption, the Afghanistan government has to stop the violence. The two entities contribute to each other and one cannot exist without the other.
Afghanistan cannot be abandoned, unfortunately. It is in a sensitive region of the world that allows the nurturing of international criminals among a populous of people that sincerely want a democracy that values many of the qualities of life civilization values. If Afghanistan had a glut of oil between the rocks of the mountains, it would be occupied until every ounce was extracted. That isn't the case and Afghanistan through decades of neglect has devolved from a once reasonably peaceful society into one dominated by a bizarre culture nurtured by al Qaeda and given legitimacy by the Taliban.
The region has to find stability. The last eight years hasn't resolved the violence or dominated the culture by values of civilized countries because the 'real war' was sidelined to Iraq where there is significant oil deposits extracted to the last drop by injecting water into the oil wells at a time when humanity is suffering from a warming Earth and CO2 toxication while experiencing the worst droughts in history. To say the values here is bizarre is an understatement. The 'idea' of using water to inject into oil wells when people at the surface can't find potable water to drink is an unbelievable reality in Iraq.
But, Iraq is not the topic, the stabilization of Afghanistan is the reason for this entry. I believe we are committed to this conflict, it does have a resolve and we have the best talent in the military heading the effort. If the Congress of the USA can't see the forest for the trees than they have failed AGAIN to resolve turbulence that will revisit the USA. If politics defeats General McChrystal and his assessment I will think less of those that act against his dedication and his remarkable abilities. He is one of the bravest men I have ever witnessed in regard to these last eight years, able to stare down international criminals, hunt them down and insure their demise. He is a rare talent at a time when it is needed most.
At the United Nations this week we witnessed incredible cooperation between countries. We had the exceptional pleasure of witnessing the one and a half hour speech by a Libyan leader that stands testament to the power of non-proliferation. No different than the abandonment of Afghanistan since 1980, the USA diplomatic corps have abandoned a denuclearized nation in efforts to further the outreach to the Libyan people and its economy.
The rhetoric of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi is a result of the in appreciation of the disarmament of his nation without conflict and the realization he did authorize a horrible crime of murder of over two hundred people. All that is taken for granted that The West had a right to accomplish such a feat without appreciation that it was actually accomplished without confrontation and with realization the Libyan people needed to be further included in the world of openness and peaceful resolve. The rhetoric of al-Gaddafi is due to the lack of forgiveness.
When efforts to secure the world away from violence and nuclear armament succeed there needs to be more than a flag of victory planted, there needs to be connectedness of the people of any nation willing to commit to peace and mutual economy. The war strategy for Afghanistan cannot end with simply stating 'we tried' or 'we won' it needs someone to change the face of the nation that is so willing to go where we lead. Libya was willing to go where The West lead it, but, abandoned appreciation of the effort by the people to cooperate.
If the USA had not abandoned Afghanistan in 1980 there wouldn't be the level of violence within that country and we would never have experienced the attacks of September 11, 2001. By abandoning Afghanistan now that we realize how powerful a violent and oppressive regime that is the Taliban can become, we are only setting up the USA to be endangered by those same elements again and the Afghan people to lives of servitude to international criminals again.
If the USA believes it can simply turn its back and walk away hoping Afghanistan will simply remain a containable haven for these criminals, realize that Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi at the age of 67 is not finished with his focus. He headed up the African Union for a long time and saw it develop into an organization with economic realities and potential. He is not a stupid man that simply bends his knee to The West. He is now asking for a 'one state' solution to unite Africa and South America. I remind South America has its own 'world bank' now. Col. al-Gaddafi isn't settling back to rest his former priorities in an easy chair into retirement, quite the contrary. He sees a bigger picture and one that might manifest in the destruction of Western culture should the opportunity present itself and 'the need' arise. There is no good feeling when leaders are faced with 'illegal' invasions by a certain political party in the USA.
For the USA to abandon these accomplishments and allow fear to breed hatred is a foolish game. To commit to Afghanistan to make the reality of stability of the region a success will add to the legitimacy of the intentions of the USA on a scale that no one can ignore under the leadership of a Secretary of Defense and a general of exceptional ability. To turn our backs on the victory that is guaranteed by such exceptional men at this point will be to lose every potential of repeating the ability of securing the USA.
There is the chance there will not be another General McChrystal. If that is the case and the 'freshness' of his ability to 'know' the enemy and defeat them is lost to political concerns will be to lack the ability to insure the best outcome for the USA and its allies in the future.
If we consider the world burgeoning on a path to sustainable peace with non-proliferation a reality, it is all regions of the world that will have to be stable and not just those that suit the wealth merchants of Wall Street. I am confident strong alliances can be sustained with Pakistan and nurtured again with Russia bringing all pressure to bear to stabilize Afghanistan. Both of these countries are cooperating with all the requests of the USA and seek a region more secure and more democratic.
The Afghan people are wonderful people who are willing to accept our leadership, we can't betray them and allow them to be disposable lives falling again victims to oppression and violence. I stand with General McChrystal and his assessment. I believe in him. It isn't easy for me to make that commitment either. I believe there will be less causalities with a stronger military force under his leadership.
