Time to Prove Bin Laden's Point

I read Frank Marshall's article "Time to end Afghan debacle" On Florida Today.   He made some points right at the beginning, and never lost touch with the reality of the situation as it exists today.. or most of how we got to where we are at.  Let's take a look at what Marshall says.

"Too often, analysts rate the Afghanistan war by how it hurts or helps the Obama presidency.


I can’t think of a dumber reason. There are only two valid ways to justify the war, and that is:


Is it in the vital security interests of the United States and/or its closest allies?


Is it winnable?"


We are long past the time in our history where we should be allowing politics to determine how we conduct a war. Sure we can go back and discuss the reasons Truman had to fire MacArthur, or if it was really necessary for Obama to fire McChrystal.. But that's nothing more than the Commander in Chief insuring overall control of the military remains in civilian hands. I'm talking about some thing entirely different.




A presidents approval, or lack of approval will always be affected by how well our forces are perceived to be doing when we are at war.. For the last fifty years that has determined the way we've fought wars.. For a couple years Lyndon Johnson thought he'd made a science of it, and he had a Field Commander in General Westmoreland who seemed more than happy to tell him what he wanted to hear. This reached a new level of idiocy last fall while President Obama hedged for months trying to gain support for a new strategy. Roosevelt and Lincoln managed to maintain strict control over their commanders.. without obtaining a political consensus

More from Frank

I was among the ardent supporters of the war after 9/11. We stymied the Taliban, ushered out al-Qaida and helped establish a friendly government that brought a smidgen of dignity to the female population.


Then, under President Bush, Afghanistan took a back seat to Iraq in terms of commitment and resources. While the Taliban had been stymied, they were not eliminated, and just like any persistent enemy that’s been ignored, they regenerated under our watch.


Eighteen months into the Obama presidency, despite increases in armed strength, American casualties are at an all time high, with July’s death count a record 66.


The Afghan government is intrinsically corrupt.


With a new $500 million aid package to Pakistan, evidence continually surfaces that indicates elements within their government share dual loyalties.


Best estimates put the dollar cost of the war near $300 billion, and counting.


All that, while Osama bin Laden is alive and gloating from his cave.



No Argument with that. In the fall of 2001 and well into 2002 we drove the Taliban out of the Cities and into the mountains. Back then not too many Americans would have been upset if the United States had made those mountains into a testing range for high yield weapons.  Back then most of us could have cared less of those mountians glowed for the next 1000 years.  We were at war, we were mad and we were united.

 Then George Bush decided to finish his father's war.


Most thinking people knew when we ended hostilities at the end of Desert Storm we would eventually have to return. That always happens with unfinished wars, just knocking down a bad guy doesn't mean he won't get back up, sooner or later. No one dreamed it would be George Bush"s son that would do it. I won't get into a discussion about the WMDs at the moment. Neither Iraq or the WMDs posed an immediate threat to the United States.   Saddam could have and should have waited. We had a very real, very imminent threat that needed to be dealt with as ruthlessly as the attacks we were responding to. George Jr let the Country lose its focus on the primary enemy. Obama is too much of a politician, and to little of a leader to bring it back.  It's now the president's war, it's the military's war but it's not our war,

Frank Marshall continues

Is the war winnable? Perhaps.


But not when every soldier hesitates under the watchful eye of embedded reporters judging their every move.


Not when units must announce, in advance, when troops are entering a village.


Not when we open our playbook to the enemy, letting them know when and how we’re pulling out.


Not when rules favor the other side.


Times have changed since 2001.


While Afghanistan as a friendly ally would be in the best interest of America, we overlook the fact the terror network is now a global threat, not based in Afghanistan alone.


Al-Qaida is established in many other nations, including Yemen, while other terrorist organizations remain active in the Mideast like Hezbollah and Hamas. Deploying forces in every country that serves as a safe haven for terrorists would be impossible.


“Victory” was once defined by an enemy who signs surrender documents across a table aboard a battleship.


That’s not plausible here.


Gallup Polls show that U.S. support for President Obama’s management of the war has fallen to 36 percent. It’s time to admit mistakes, and preclude any more Americans from the casualty list.


That’s the best reason of all.


Here's Where Frank Marshall and I start to disagree but only on a few points.. The Victory Marshall referred to only happened after the enemy was completely destroyed. They had nothing left to fight with, the destruction of the most basic necessities for the survivors was assured unless they signing that document. That is the only sure way to win a war. The United States has forgotten that. Our military is forced to fight in a way acceptable for general audience evening TV and for goals that meet the self serving whims of politicians. If we are going to go to war, get the reporters, PC Police and politicians out of the way and fight the damned thing to win.


There is the part Frank Marshall left out.





Osama Bin-Ladin said he would win the war because Americans no longer had the stomach for a protracted war.

Guess he was right