Victor Davis Hanson lays it out:
Afghanistan is a messy war, but so far it has been conducted with a minimum loss of American life while achieving some important goals. We can argue about current strategies, fault what’s been done in the past, deplore the length of the war, lament its cost, or blame each other for its inconclusiveness, but the facts remain that we removed the Taliban, weakened al-Qaeda in the region, fostered a consensual government in the most unlikely of places, and helped to prevent another catastrophic attack on our nation originating from that part of the world — and did all this with a degree of skill that is reflected in losses that by historical standards are quite moderate…
…Afghanistan is a tough, nasty war, but so far, by the standard of past American “police actions,” its monthly toll is light. In some 97 consecutive months of warring, we have lost 869 dead, or not quite 9 a month. In comparison, 909 Americans were killed on average each month in Korea over 37 months, and 469 Americans were killed on average each month in Vietnam over 101 months of conflict. So far, Afghanistan is costing about a hundredth of the monthly fatalities in Korea, and a fiftieth of those in Vietnam.
The key is to remain flexible and adaptable. What worked in 2001 to rout the Taliban with a minimum of human and material losses may not work in 2009 to keep insurgents from attacking the fragile democracy. Often counterinsurgency is not at odds with, but complementary to, ongoing counterterrorism operations. And despite the demagoguery, our efforts in Iraq may not have been antithetical to those in Afghanistan but oddly synergistic, as thousands of jihadists flocked to the “main theater,” where it was much easier for the American military to deal with them — as the enormous jihadist losses in Iraq, and the relative quiet there now, attest.
So now Afghanistan is flaring up, perhaps because Islamists, like U.S. forces, have turned their attention to the original focus after the decision in Iraq. It seems that al-Qaeda’s leaders, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden, suddenly are no longer calling for the devout to travel to Anbar to kill the infidel, but instead to come to Waziristan and help the Taliban with the real struggle. And why not, after suffering thousands killed and failing to stop Nouri al-Maliki’s constitutional effort in Iraq?…
Flexible and adaptable doesn’t just apply to the military – it applies to we, the people, as well. We must not concentrate on the daily or monthly casualties, even as we mourn our losses. We must not pay too much attention to what the enemy says or does. We must, most importantly, never take a televised news story from Afghanistan at face value – television is the great falsifier and while film may be dramatic, it rarely captures the full truth. Our job, as civilians, is to remain staunch in our desire for victory – to demonstrate to our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that we’ll give them whatever they need, even if this means, at times, that we’ll give them time and patience above all else.
I am pleased that the bi-partisan Congressional leadership has indicated a willingness to fight on. I am pleased that President Obama says he is listening to the military leadership. I urge the President to make very public demonstrations of our political will to victory, as nothing would help our effort better than to clarify to our enemies that we’re going to keep at this until they are defeated. President Obama has my unflagging support in his efforts to secure victory in Iraq – and my prayers are offered for Obama to rely on God’s love and wisdom in choosing the right course.
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