David Brooks sums up the Afghan war brilliantly in this piece:
"When we first invaded the country, it seemed like this gigantic victory for high-tech warfare. We had a few special forces types sneaking around the country pointing lasers at targets and then F-18s would blow them up. That seemed to vindicate the Donald Rumsfeld high-tech war doctrine, which in turn shaped the way we fought in Afghanistan and Iraq for years to come.
"The success of the surge in Iraq made politicians think the same strategy could work in Afghanistan.
"I don't recall anybody, Democrat or Republican, questioning that strategy five years ago. I don't recall anybody saying we needed a classic COIN strategy of lots of boots on the ground.
"Then two things happened. Iraq went to pieces, which reminded military strategists of COIN doctrine. The success of the surge made that doctrine mainstream in military circles.
"As the election approached, Democrats needed to find a war they could support so they could be against Iraq without being called doves. They were willing to send soldiers and Marines into harm’s way so long as it would help them get elected in November 2008.
"After the election and the success of the surge in Iraq, many military people decided it was time to implement the COIN doctrine in Afghanistan. At the same time many Democrats decided they no longer needed to be for that war, since the election had been won and their Congressional majorities had been secured.
"So here we are today, with some Democrats now supporting the light footprint approach that Donald Rumsfeld had championed when this whole thing started. If this isn’t an absurd turn of events, I don’t know what is.
"The reality remains, though, that the light footprint approach didn't work under Bush and it wouldn't work under Obama. It would lead to a Taliban reconquest...."
What he doesn't really address is the question of whether that matters enough to engage in a long war.
What Bush Wrought - The Conversation Blog - NYTimes.com
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