An editorial headed “Advice for Obama: listen to general” concludes “The president can’t go wrong by relying on the advice of his top commander in Afghanistan.”
WATCHDOG: Three growls for the least informed editorial we have encountered so far this year! The New Era is endorsing the concept that national policy should be determined by generals in the field. Déjà vu Vietnam!
Haven’t the editors read or listened to accounts from officers and non-commissioned officers on how futile our efforts have been? Areas contained one month must be abandoned the next, and then our friends in those villages are slaughtered!
Even with a rigid draft, we would not have sufficient American youths to police every mountain and valley of Afghanistan.
Our concern is not how they worship and run their country, although we certainly want to encourage more humane practices, especially towards women.
Our true interest is how to protect our nation from radical Islamic fundamentalism. Al-queda is a sub-group of the Taliban. If we make peace with the War Lords and they in turn work out an accommodation with theTaliban, we may actually be able to accomplish our important goals.
In any case, presidents and legislators properly must cope with the big national picture, not field generals!
