We don't hear too much about that step-child of American wars, you know, the one in Afghanistan that was supposed to be all about capturing and bringing to justice those who instigated 9/11, the one that we turned over to NATO once the White House decided it was time to attack and invade Iraq. What little we do hear tends to be upbeat, such as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's most current assessment. Today's Los Angeles Times has an op-ed piece written by John Kiriakou (a former CIA counter-terrorism official) and Richard Klein (a former State Department official) which presents an entirely different picture.Most Americans, still in shock over the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, approved going over to this tiny country to kick some backside in revenge. Everyone figured it would be a quick and easy war: take down the repressive Taliban rulers, demolish the Al Qaeda training camps, capture Osama bin Laden and his cohorts: a week, maybe two. The Russians figured Afghanistan would be a walk in the park not too long ago as well. They got bogged down and finally limped back home. But, we were told, we're Americans: we're exceptional, plus we have God and justice on our side. A week, maybe two.Well, it's been close to six years and we still have some troops there, as do our allies in NATO, and things are not going so well. In fact, Afghanistan is broken and longing for the very stability that is being promised by the Taliban we drove out.Heckuva war, George.

Labels: Afghanistan