Defense Secretary James “Mad Dog” Mattis, while in Afghanistan last week, was given the green light to determine whether more American troops would be sent to that country to fight Islamic extremists there.
Is this Administration channeling its inner Alexander the Great (and others) who thought this mountainous, land-locked nation could be controlled by “invaders”? We are now in the fifteenth year of war in that nation, and are no closer to pacifying it now than when we were when we sent in our troops to defeat the Taliban in 2002. Our first successes have turned sour and we continue to pour blood and treasure into what other nations found to be a useless endeavor.
Afghanistan could best be described, in the hierarchy of nations, as a fourth world country. Measured by most economic standards, it qualifies. Others place the nation as a failed state, along with Libya, Yemen and Somalia.
But because Afghanistan occupies an important geographical region, it has been the object of repeated invasions and occupations. It is the gateway from Southeast Asia to Central Asia, as the nation borders such countries as Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Pakistan is on the south with India being accessed through the Khyber Pass. In addition, Afghanistan has a small border with China. On the chessboard of Asia, the nation was an invaluable pawn as the Great Powers played the Great Game.
A brief list of the outside powers who tried to conquer and pacify Afghanistan shows that even the greatest of empires and nations failed to do so.
The Persians were among the first, but they fell to the Greeks under Alexander in 330 BC. Renaming the area Bactria, he used the Khyber Pass to attack the Indus Valley, but died soon after. One of his successors, Seleucus, had it included in his third of Alexander’s empire. Much Greek influence is seen in art and culture. But eventually the Greek kingdom there was replaced by the Kushans. They conquered the country in the first century AD, but they were replaced by the Roman Empire.
Then came the conquest of Afghanistan by Islamic forces, which saw that religion become dominant in the region. But even the Muslims could not keep the land as the Mongols under Genghis Khan extend their empire to include Afghanistan. After that came Tamerlane from the north to conquer (1383-5), whose kingdom eventually gave way to the Mughal Empire from India. This empire declined during the 18th century.
Perhaps most familiar to us is the British attempt to pacify and control the region. They attacked through the Khyber Pass from British India, to try to deny attacks into their sphere of influence from central Asia. Three times they attempted to subjugate the inhabitants of this mountainous nation before finally ending their occupation after World War I with a negotiated settlement with the tribes that continually rebelled against British rule.
Much more recently the Soviets were mired in fighting in Afghanistan, the result of being asked to defend the government against insurgents. From 1979 the Soviets were embroiled in the Afghan civil war before being forced to admit defeat.
As we now know, a coalition of nations, led by the United States, invaded after the September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. We are still there.
Do we learn from history? The Afghan people are a tough foe; they have faced invasion after invasion, and yet today, with American troops in the country, it is not a safe venue for your summer vacation.
I am not a pacifist. From my study of history in university, and teaching the subject for forty years, I know that from time to time a nation must go to war to protect its own survival and the safety of its citizens. The United States has been in many conflicts in its 241 years of existence.
Yet what have we gained from fifteen years of fighting in Afghanistan? To what end have our efforts been directed? We are in the third administration directing this war. Have any of them been able give us, the American public, voters and taxpayers, reason to extend this war any further?
To the present leaders in Washington, I believe some questions are in order. First, what is the goal of this war? What will constitute success? Are we nation building or just supporting the existing power structure in Kabul?
Second, when can you project an end to the conflict? Another fifteen years? Do we send my great-grandchildren to police the nation? Is this another Korea, where we have 28000 troops in that nation, 64 years after the armistice? Seventy two years after the end of World War 2, we still have soldiers in Germany and Japan.
Credible estimates range in the one trillion-dollar area for the cost of this decade and a half war. And some 2600 American lives have been lost, with many more maimed during the fighting.
Please, President Trump and Secretary Mattis, how much more will be needed to finally declare victory, and how will we know when that victory is achieved?