NSN Cited In The Times and Democrat (SC) On Defining Victory In Afghanistan

THE ISSUE: War in Afghanistan

OUR OPINION: U.S. must press the issue in defining ‘victory’

A decade of war in Afghanistan has the United States and its allies looking for a way to end the fighting and exit a land over which its native population has been battling for centuries.

The objective in Afghanistan in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was to find and destroy Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda forces. The terrorists’ alliance with the then-Taliban government in Afghanistan turned the regime into the enemy, too. The Taliban were quickly ousted as a government but remained as a fighting force against the allied-back government. So began 10 years of war and the search for bin Laden, which ended in 2011 when U.S. forces killed the terrorist leader.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced this past week that the United States will shift its primary mission from combat to advising and training Afghan security forces next year.

According to the National Security Network, which has generally supported Obama administration policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense experts say such a shift represents the best way to protect long-term U.S. interests at a reasonable cost. Moving from a combat to a training mission is part of a broader transition to put Afghans in the lead, which will enable the United States to transition out of Afghanistan.

But there are no guarantees. An Associated Press account this past week stated that a leaked NATO report shows captured insurgents are full of confidence they will seize power after international troops leave. Some say that is why the Taliban are dismissing reports that they are preparing to talk with the Afghan government.

The United States and the allies will have to force the hand of both the Karzai government in Afghanistan and the Taliban to achieve results. That will mean ending delays over venues, agendas and conflicting interests. It’s time to talk, to find a way out of Afghanistan.

Critics say Panetta and the administration are wrong. But the opponents do not offer an alternate plan to win or end the war. That’s because “winning” in traditional military terms in Afghanistan is as undefinable as it is unattainable.

The United States has achieved key goals. As Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, writes, “With this strategy, the administration accomplishes three goals: (1) U.S. troops are removed from combat earlier, reducing lives lost and cost; (2) U.S. troops return home earlier; and (3) both security and political risks are made manageable … for the United States, the war is coming to an end. Its critical goals have been achieved. Osama bin Laden is dead. Al-Qaeda there is virtually dead. There are no vital interests to justify further great sacrifices. And now it’s time to act upon this reality and bring the heroes home.”

Soldiers of Orangeburg’s 414th Transportation Company left friends and family behind this past week on a mission that will lead them to Afghanistan. Most of the reservists are young and optimistic, anxious to serve their country and help people. It is our fervent hope that upon their arrival in Afghanistan in a matter of weeks, their mission will become more about peace than ongoing war.