Huh?!
Lemme get this straight... we're trying to rebuild villages and governance in Afghanistan in order to backstop the Pakistani military in dealing with potential loose nuclear weapons? Say that out loud and ask yourself how absolutely ridiculous that sounds.
Was Senator Bennett that far off-script? Or is the mission that far off-base?
Anyone want to take a whack at writing an actual mission statement for the war in Afghanistan? Put your best attempt in the comments below.
By: Brant
For comparison's sake, here's Ike's mission, pre-D-Day
You will enter the continent of Europe and in conjunction with the other United Nations undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces.
OK, I'm going to try to do this with a straight face and follow the D-Day example you provided:
ReplyDelete"You are to aid the Afghan people in establishing and maintaining stable government, security, and economic institutions in order to deny, both in the short-term and long-term, the use of Afghanistan as a safe haven by al-Qaeda and other designated terrorist organizations. You are to conduct counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, and civil/military operations in conjunction with Afghan and Allied forces in order to accomplish this mission."
Of course, my mission statement is three times longer than your example. I suppose that reflects my indoctrination in the modern American military mindset.
-- Guardian