Afghanistan Today (or, What Happens When We Don't Finish the Job)

Over four years ago now, the United States invaded Afghanistan in order to dismantle the Taliban which was sympathetic to and chief harborer of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda who were behind the terrorist attacks on September 11th. In its place we were supposed to set up a democratic government that would change the region for the better.

But this has not become the reality looking back today.

Osama Bin Laden and many chief Al Qaeda members remain at large and democracy is precarious at best. Much like Iraq now, rebuilding funds and projects are being cut and the Taliban and warlords fueled by the heroin trade still hold sway in many areas of the country and may gain more power when the U.S. eventually departs. But a continued drawdown is likely as a continued Iraq war stretches our military thin.

Now, the hunt for Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda rests more on special forces, good intelligence, and cooperation from Pakistan than a large troop presence, but it will be difficult to keep the Taliban and warlords contained as it dwindles and more responsilibity is given to a weak government lead by President and Bush crony Hamid Karzai.

Among the many reasons our misadventure in Iraq is that we didn't finish the job in Afghanistan, which was considerably more important in our effort against the terrorists than Iraq ever was. Aghanistan never needed anything like the military effort Iraq did, yet still, it has distracted us to the point in which we have largerly forgotten about Afghanistan. It's as if we have claimed victory and moved on, but still much remains to be done in the country.

But alas, the war in Iraq will keep us from doing what needs to be done. Ending the war in Afghanistan could have meant an end to our war against the terrorists behind 9/11, but beginning this war in Iraq has only meant widening it more than Osama could have dreamt.