No win engagement--Afghanistan

"We must demonstrate to the people and to the Taliban, that Afghan and [International Security Assistance Force] forces are here to safeguard the Afghan people, and that we are in this to win, that is our clear objective,"....--General David Petraeus.

Nine years now and it is a war of attrition where the initial objects have evaporated. It is time to seriously re-evaluate and end this often repeated mistake.

"Petraeus: In Afghanistan, 'we are in this to win'"

by

Joshua Partlow

July 4th, 2010

The Washington Post

Seizing the flags of U.S. and NATO forces on Sunday morning, Gen. David Petraeus formally took hold of the Afghan war and began the daunting task of turning around an ever more deadly and unpopular conflict.

In a ceremony on the tree-shaded lawn in front of NATO headquarters in Kabul, Petraeus assumed command from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was fired last month for the critical comments he and his staff made about Obama administration officials in a magazine article.

A general with a sterling reputation for military creativity and political acumen, Petraeus, 57, struck a determined tone in his remarks to fellow officers, foreign diplomats, and Afghan officials, insisting that "we are in this to win."

"We're engaged in a contest of wills, our enemies are doing all that they can to undermine the confidence of the Afghan people," he said.

Before he mentioned the Taliban, Petraeus described those enemies as "al-Qaeda and its network of extremist allies," harkening back to the initial justification for invasion nine years ago. He said his mission is to demonstrate to the Afghan people and the world that these extremists "will not be allowed to once again establish sanctuaries in Afghanistan from which they can launch attacks on the Afghan people and on freedom loving nations around the world."

"We must demonstrate to the people and to the Taliban, that Afghan and [International Security Assistance Force] forces are here to safeguard the Afghan people, and that we are in this to win, that is our clear objective," he said.

Rather than promising sweeping changes, Petraeus praised the work of McChrystal and said he would look, as any new commander should, for opportunities "where refinements might be needed." The military strategy for Afghanistan, which Petraeus helped formulate in his previous position as head of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, will remain focused on protecting the Afghan people and shoring up its troubled government.

In a letter to NATO soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan, a gesture he also made when he took over command of U.S. troops in Iraq in 2007, he said "we must never forget that the decisive terrain in Afghanistan is the human terrain."

"Protecting those we are here to help nonetheless does require killing, capturing, or turning the insurgents. We will not shrink from that; indeed, you have been taking the fight to the enemy and we will continue to do so," he wrote.

He ended his letter by saying: "And I pledge my total commitment to our mission as we work together to help achieve a brighter future for a new country in an ancient land."