Not so Happy Anniversary

Oct 7, 2011

by Robert G. Gard [contact information]

by John Isaacs [contact information]

Lt. General Robert Gard and John Isaacs wrote a piece on the 10th Anniversary of Military Operations in Afghanistan for The Hill's Congress Blog on October 7, 2011.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of American involvement in the Afghanistan War, which began in October 2001 when American, British and Afghan Northern Alliance launched an attack against the Taliban leadership and the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

The duration of World War II was seven years.

World War I lasted four years.

The death and carnage of the U.S. Civil War consumed 1861 to 1865.

President Barack Obama has pledged that U.S. combat troops will finally come out of that country by the end of 2014, two more long years, extending the war to at least 12 years. Already, the neo-conservatives such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are beating the drums to continue a large-scale American troop presence beyond 2014.

Few doubted the need to send American troops to Afghanistan in 2001. However, preoccupied with invading Iraq, the administration failed to provide security in Afghanistan, thereby allowing the Taliban to regroup and move back in force into Afghanistan where they are entrenched. Most now would agree that another decade of war there is unconscionable. It is time to bring the American combat involvement in that country to an end.

An operation to decimate al-Qaeda has turned into a long-term nation-building of a country that has never known democratic government or pluralistic society. The total cost for a decade of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq exceeds $4 trillion, including the long-term care for thousands of veterans who will badly need it. Over 6,200 American soldiers have been killed in the last decade plus more than 45,000 wounded, with about the same number evacuated with injuries or disease. The Rand Corporation estimates that about 320,000 service members may have experienced traumatic brain injury during their deployment.

These costs are mounting at the same time United States federal budget deficit is reaching new records and calls to cut the budget are coming from all parts of the political spectrum. Yet significant amounts of money can be saved abroad by ending the United States military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq as early as possible.

For the next year, the Obama Administration has requested another $119 billion for the two wars. 2010 was the deadliest year of war in Afghanistan for the United States, with 499 American service members killed. That gruesome total may be exceeded this year.

The United States succeeded in its primary objective of weakening the deadly terrorists who targeted the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and civilians in many parts of the world. To go beyond that to rebuild the country is an objective not achievable in our lifetimes.

The future of Afghanistan should be left to the Afghans. The results may not be pretty. It will certainly not be another German miracle.

It is long past time to bring American troops home. American service people have performed their duty heroically and with dedication and sacrifice. We should honor their sacrifice by not adding to the terrible toll of the war.

In his celebrated novel “1984,” George Orwell warned about perpetual war exploited by governments to divert their public’s attention from problems at home. The United States should reverse course and focus on rebuilding America.

Policy and Research

• Bio-chem Weapons
• Iran
• Afghanistan & Iraq
• Missile Defense
• National Security Spending
• Non-Proliferation
• North Korea
• Nuclear Terrorism
• Nuclear Weapons