While Afghanistan's government is accused of "state-engineered fraud" in the presidential elections, on Friday a NATO airstrike on two supposed "insurgent" oil-tankers, which killed many civilians, has caused an investigation.
This war is obviously unpopular throughout the world, and events such as this only strengthen its demise. The American commander of NATO in Afghanistan recently restricted the use of strikes because the war may be lost if civilian casualties are not reduced. However, these sorts of attacks are still an occurrence. Afghanistan is often compared to Vietnam, and with good reason: this is the same brand of combat, and although the motives of the war in Afghanistan are still legitimate, so then were those in Vietnam for years until the Pentagon Papers made the front page. I can't help but link these two wars through events such as these, and it seems to me only a matter of time before the rest of the world abandons the United States in this international war on the Taliban, leaving this country to fight a futile, expensive, destructive, and questionable war, and leaving Afghanistan's government and society between tyranny and utter destruction.
There needs to be a different strategy in Afghanistan if the efforts to counter terrorism in the region are to continue. Maybe the strategy should not be black and white, Al-Qaeda and civilian, because it leaves out the grey area that so often happens to be apart of life. In this case, grey area would have saved those civilians, and in the case of the war, it may leave room for more success with the Afghani government and, more importantly, its people.
Nice insight.
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