The way forward in Iraq, Afghanistan
President Obama is slipping and sliding deeper into the war mire he inherited from President Bush.
There’s been a torrent of painful complications recently.
Those torture photographs, the debate over prosecutions of Bush-era officials, upticking violence in Iraq, the precarious situation Pakistan, surging Taliban strength in Afghanistan, corruption within the Karzai regime, and the abrupt dismissal of our top Afghanistan general.
It all stems from George Bush’s decision to create a two-front war in Asia and the Near East. The blunder was the greatest political and military debacle of the post-World War era.
If he had focused our efforts on rebuilding Afghanistan and conducting peace talks with the Israelis and Palestinians, Mr. Bush’s post-9/11 leadership might have qualified him for Mount Rushmore.
Instead, he cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and forfeited the moral high ground that we held so decisively after the planes smashed into the Twin Towers.
But right behind Bush’s folly stands the blunder of President Lyndon Johnson, who inherited a deteriorating war in Vietnam and failed to change its course.
Johnson — who won a far more decisive election than Mr. Obama — allowed himself to be bullied by events and by a limited sense of what was and wasn’t possible.
He also lied to the American people about the situation on the ground.
We know that Mr. Obama will avoid Bush’s blunder. But will he escape Johnson’s fate?
Replacing the top commander on the ground in Afghanistan won’t do the trick. Mr. Obama has to do four things immediately:
1. Tell the American people exactly how bad it is in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and articulate a clear vision for why this war has to be won decisively. Is a “boots on the ground” response to terrorism really appropriate, or should we begin shifting to the more surgical European model, based on espionage, law enforcement, and diplomacy?
2. Explain in clear, unambiguous terms what victory means. Americans have learned that the Taliban and Al Quaeda will never sign a peace treaty or throw in the towel. So what is the long-term vision for keeping America safe? Are we doing the right things now — in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere — to make that transition.
3. Implement a specific, targeted “war tax” to pay for the fight and for its aftermath. America needs shared sacrifice. It is morally reprehensible to do this on the cheap, or with borrowed money. We also need more money for health care and counseling for the troops coming home.
4. Demand a greater commitment by NATO and our other allies. The time has come for Mr. Obama to cash in his worldwide celebrity. If we’re to win, we need the Canadians, the French, the British, the Egyptians — a true coalition. Those same countries have to do more to rebuild Afghanistan.
Sadly, this fight looks to get a lot ugly before it gets better.
If Afghanistan is to be America’s next “good” war and not another Vietnam, Mr. Obama needs to set a bold new course now.
