The case against Obama’s Afghan pull-out plan solidifies

[Valin]

Power Line:

Paul Mirengoff

February 13, 2015

 

Yesterday, General John Campbell, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, delivered upbeat testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee about the effects of our military effort in that country. Campbell documented the extraordinary progress Afghanistan has made on numerous fronts in the 13 years since the U.S. toppled the Taliban. I don’t think there’s any dispute about this.

 

Campbell also contended that the present situation is quite positive. He praised the efforts of Afghan security forces, now numbering around 35,000, in combating the Taliban during the last fighting season. And he expressed confidence that, with a new government in place that’s far more popular and less corrupt than its predecessor, Afghan forces will be even more effective in the future.

 

(Snip)

 

Are Campbell’s upbeat assessments accurate? I don’t know. However, reports like this one from the Christian Science Monitor provide reason for doubt:

 

 

[in 2014] the Taliban. . .made considerable gains, inflicting a record number of casualties against Afghan security forces, capturing new ground in the countryside, conducting major attacks inside the capital, and receiving a boost from a record opium harvest. They did so despite the fact that some 10,000 to 12,000 of their fighters were killed, captured, or wounded in 2013, painting a picture of an organization now adept at dealing with the loss of its leaders, as well as of rank-and-file soldiers.

 

 

True or not, Campbell’s happier picture is useful to nearly all concerned. Naturally, the military finds it useful to say that its efforts are succeeding.

 

(Snip)

 

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