Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to assess the current counterinsurgency strategy articulated by General Stanley McChrystal and see firsthand the troop surge into Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan has improved but we still have a long way to go to ensure stability in this war torn nation, but we can’t be over confident that everything will go smoothly for us; there will be challenges in bringing stability to Afghanistan.
Having served there early in the war I know all too well the vast complexities that face the U.S. military, but we have to be patient and not expect too much too soon.
Pakistan is the wild card in all this, recently they have been arresting Taliban leaders and actively engaging the Taliban, but unfortunately know one knows why now they are assisting us. It could be in their best interests as thousands of Pakistani civilians have been killed by Taliban forces. We should not be lured in into any false pretense that this will continue forever; what was turned on can easily be turned off!
For now we have let the counterinsurgency strategy in place continue and allow Gen. McChrystal to move forward with operational planning. We are moving in the right direction and we will have to see when all the surge forces are in place and operating to reevaluate the success of this strategy.
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