Mess in

Afghanistan

10/25/2009

Operation Enduring Freedom launched October 2001 in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The United States, with support from England, began bombing Afghanistan for its refusal to turn over al-Qaida leaders.

Since that time, the Taliban has been ousted from national power, yet most of the al-Qaida leadership -- notably Osama bin Laden -- remain on the lam. To date, the U.S. has had almost 900 military personnel killed and more than 4,200 wounded. The number includes 14 American soldiers killed Monday alone.

The United States, however, is not at war with Afghanistan itself. We're attempting a little nation-building in a country so chaotic it's having a special run-off election Nov. 7 to gather some kind of results from the last presidential election that was besieged by fraud. We're attempting to train Afghani police and military for a government with no apparent legitimate office-holder. The political factions are as diverse in purpose as the insurgent groups running rampant inside the world's largest opium producer. The Taliban is regaining strongholds in strategic regions. Aid, arms and supplies enter the rugged countryside from official U.N. channels as well as from covert links with other Muslim countries.

In short, Afghanistan is a mess. Making sense of the situation is as tough as nailing mercury to the floor. There are no clear-cut solutions apparent to stabilizing the country -- particularly since the U.S. end-game is undefined. President Barack Obama met this week with his national security team once again to decide the future of our involvement in this troubled war. It was Obama's sixth such full-scale conference since taking office in January.

Awaiting his decision, obviously, are the Afghani people. But so is the U.S. military. The U.S. Afghan commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has requested the deployment of as many as 80,000 additional American forces to more than double the 68,000 currently authorized.

Sending even more American service men and women to battle certainly would bolster our military objectives. There is the distinct chance, though, that move would undermine civilian-side aims. Nation-building encompasses much more than eliminating opposition. Unless stability is achieved, different counterinsurgency forces simply will fill the void created.

Yet the clock continues to tick. And the U.S. death toll keeps climbing. We would urge the Obama administration to decide its course of action post-haste. Our military forces need decisive direction from their commander-in-chief.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net