The Containment of ISMs

After President Obama's speech last night, someone commented, "It's about time... Reinforcements were needed months ago! Just do what's needed to get the job done and then get out."

But what IS "the job"? Is it "the end of terrorISM? Does "terrorISM" live in Afghanistan? Therein lies the rub. No matter how many troops we throw into Afghanistan, no matter how long we stay, no matter how many more lives we sacrifice in that country, those of our soldiers and Afghan civilians, "terrorISM" will still exist in the world. Can we wipe out the "threat of terror" with more terror?

In Vietnam, we were supposed to "contain CommunISM". It didn't work. "ISMs" cannot be contained or wiped out. They are philosophies not physical entities that you can kill or build a wall around. Yes, physical beings carry out those philosophies, sometimes in ways that we find horrible, but for every Communist or terrorist that we kill or imprison, 100 more take his or her place.

What finally brought the USSR to an end was not the containment of Communism, because lord knows that still exists in China, Russia, and many of the other countries that once made up the USSR. What brought that nation down was military failure in Afghanistan.

This is the sad lesson that President Obama and all his advisers are ignoring. They have the benefit of a historical perspective and the insight of many great minds who have studied the Middle East for decades - but they continue to resort to military tactics that are doomed to fail.

My friend replied, "My father gave his life to our Country for Vietnam. I know the costs & I know the gains of our foreign / military policies. The job is to defeat or keep occupied those that would like to repeat 911. As a former policy maker & student of cold war history, I've considered the pros and cons... the war against terrorism is a war that we must win! ... The beauty of America is that we're able to have disagreements (which was not the case in places like Iraq & Afghanistan) prior to 2002. Obo should have authorized the full troop request without a timetable for withdrawal. I'm not for staying forever, clear goals should be set and accomplished. This can only be done with sufficient resources. It is also time to hold the parties involved responsible for their own freedom as well as demand that the rest of the globe (who always benefits from our sacrifice) start equally sharing the burden in either blood or treasure. I've said my peace. God bless our troops!"

Clearly he and I disagree on the way forward and it is terrific that we can do so.

So many young men sacrificed their lives in Vietnam. My heart goes out to him and all the families of the fallen, many of them close friends of mine. The lessons from that war should teach us about the futility of continuing to wage war for years in Afghanistan to end up at the same place we began, or worse.

My friend believes that Iraq and Afghanistan are better off than before US involvement when he says, " The beauty of America is that we're able to have disagreements (which was not the case in places like Iraq & Afghanistan) prior to 2002." But the people in those countries are NOT better off. Human rights violations in Afghanistan have increased under Karzai's regime, which the US created and continues to support. Free speech is rewarded with imprisonment or death.

The people of Iran are handling their government crisis better. They are protesting in the streets for better government. They do not need the US to come in and "save" them.

Finally, I asked my friend, why do you think "the rest of the globe" is not jumping in to "start equally sharing the burden"? Because they understand the futility of the Afghan conflict.