Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Here's Trump's Chance to be a Hero

From Al Jazeera:

The Taliban called on President Donald Trump on Tuesday to review the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and to hold peaceful dialogue directly with Afghans instead of engaging "corrupt" politicians.

Written in a tone of negotiation, the Taliban asked Trump to study the "historical mistakes" of his predecessors and to withdraw troops from Afghanistan completely.

The letter urged the US to interact with Afghans "generously" instead of imposing war.

...

In a press conference on Monday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said all options for Afghanistan remained on the table, and a full withdrawal of troops is one of them.

Trump has yet to announce a strategy for Afghanistan, but Mattis said one is "very, very close."

Like Colonel Kilgore said, "someday this war's gonna end."




Mattis is wrong on one thing. It's not going to end in anything resembling "victory" for the US. That option is not on the table.

The best-case scenario is for the US to exit Afghanistan on its feet rather than on its knees.

If Trump just comes out soon and says "that was a 16-year clusterfuck and I'm putting an end to it," he secures at least one positive legacy.

Or, he and/or his successors can keep messing around until it turns into something like this:


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