James Cunningham, National Interest: I Was U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. The Military Can't Fix This Mess Alone.
There is no guarantee that America can “win” in Afghanistan, but it is quite clear that it can lose.
President Trump’s June 13 decision to delegate authorities on troop levels and operations in Afghanistan to Secretary of Defense James Mattis set the correct and essential condition for beginning to improve security and to enhance the prospects of success in Afghanistan. It was taken in the context of doubts in some circles around the president and in the commentariat that continued U.S. commitment to Afghanistan is worth the candle, and that the relatively small number of additional U.S. and coalition forces under discussion will in fact turn the tide. But if the United States couldn’t win with one hundred thousand troops in the fight, what difference will another couple thousand make now?
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WNU Editor: The case on why we must continue to be engaged in Afghanistan.
