The other war
It’s becoming cliche. We’re ignoring Afghanistan. It’s not like we can really imply that we’re ignoring it because of Iraq anymore, though. The American public seems to be readily forgetting about Iraq — the death, the destruction, the expense — as the American economy continues to slide.
This is ironic, of course, because the trillions of dollars we’ve spent fighting in Iraq have been a leading cause of our economic distress.
Let’s put that aside for a moment, though. The Taliban are taking over northern Pakistan. They’re essentially invading another country. Oozing out of Afghanistan (where they’re successfully evading American forces) and infecting its neighbors.
These are the guys actually responsible for 9/11. And we’re letting them engage in armed conflict against an unstable ally who happens to have nuclear weapons.
Sweet. Now is the time to figure out why the Taliban holds such appeal in Pakistan’s Northwest Territories, and figure out an effective strategy to counter them. We shouldn’t even necessarily bother with the military aspect of the conflict (let the Pakistanis handle that) but the psychological and cultural aspects of the conflict will prove essential. This requires our urgent attention. Do you feel the fierce urgency of now?
