The British couldn’t do it. The Russians couldn’t do it even though, according to journalist Stephen Malik Shelton, over a million Afghans died in that war. The Soviets, he says, used the used the cruelest of tactics, even burning people alive as punishment or to obtain information. Thank God the U.S. would never resort to such atrocities. But if the Afghans wouldn’t give in under those harsh tactics, can we expect to win?
Some students of military conflict believe the Iraq war was like a Sunday School picnic
compared to the war in Afghanistan. But there are credible Americans who believe we can win in Afghanistan. Senator John McCain believes that we must succeed there for many reasons. But the most important one he says is because the world walked away from Afghanistan once, and it descended into a cauldron of violence, hatred and human rights atrocities. He believes by walking away we set the stage for the worst terrorist attack in history against our own homeland on 9/11. McCain says we know what it takes to succeed in Afghanistan: a resolute commitment to the principles of counter-insurgency, which turned Iraq around during the surge. And he says the entire U.S. Military Command agrees with him regarding the counter-insurgency approach.
One thing is of great concern to every major world power: that is the possibility that the Taliban could step up the war with Pakistan and capture it’s nuclear arsenal. Is there much doubt that the Taliban would put nuclear devices into the hands of al-Qaeda terrorists? So the stakes are high. It is time for Christians to pray about the war. We especially need to pray for our troops and for the Afghan government leaders to run a respectable, honest government that puts the rights of it’s citizens first.
This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.
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