Desiring Machine

In all the internal clamor about the Iraq War it is easy to forget that we are fighting a two front war. Afghanistan is not mentioned much these days it seems.

This news of two German journalists shot on the side of the road in Afghanistan is not good. First death of foreign journalists in that country in 5 years. The basic lawlessness is problematic. These two journalists were camping by the side of the road and they were gunned down.

Frontline has a good feature on the Reutrn of the Taliban. This seems to provide a good overview of what is happening there. And it is not encouraging.

The sad fact is that we seem to be over committed. It seems clear that Bush and his NeoCons have not really given deference to the seriousness a two front war brings especially in a political climate that is not particularly eager for war. The administration has been able to ramrod its agenda through but I don’t think they have any idea what they are doing now that they are there. This was the very same kind of malaise that plagued Vietnam. And as John Kerry said, “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”

Lest I come across as a complainer with no ideas, here is, in broad strokes, some pragmatic ideas I think we should persue.

1.) Get serious about Afghanistan. Increase troop levels and move heaven and earth to get Musharraf to work effectively with us in that region.

2.) Eliminate Al Qaeda leadership and Bin Laden. Identify the leadership and make this absolutely clear to the world. Make this understood that this is our goal. Work with whatever local elements we need to in order to accomplish this task. This means giving audience to those that we might be fighting with. Find out the larger grievances and make deals with clear expectations and goals. If there are Taliban elements that can be flipped then lets find out about it. But we must remain consistent on human rights expectations and our explicit goal of dismantling Al Qaeda. Along these lines lets clean up Guantanamo. If we are holding people who have nothing to offer in the effort to dismantling Al Qaeda then it serves up no tangible good to keep these people detained. It more likely commits these people to become lifelong enemies. Not to mention their families and friends. 5 year detainment is too long. Let alone the serious problems with torture, and habeas corpus.

3.) Get serious about the arms trade and money. Get serious about Saudi Arabia and the elements in that society that support radical Wahhabi fringe islamic fascism. More importantly get serious about the money and arms that are flowing around, including our own arms trade.

4.) Change strategy in Iraq. Move forces out of the center of the country, concentrate troops on the Iran border, Syrian border, and Southern Borders. Put in an effective blockcade of the country no unapproved elements in or out whether by air, sea, or land. Provide supplies and relief but let the local population administer it. Basically step out of the way of the sectarian civil war that is going on. It is not our fight. The best we can do is control the arms, resources, and fighters pouring into that country. We don’t have to hand the nation over to Iran. But we don’t have to let our soldiers sit around with targets on their backs trying to be the police and fire fighters. I am not 100% certain this will work but I think it is worth a try. If things get too far out of control we can cross that bridge if we come to it again. It is time to let the Iraqis directly control their immediate destiny. And more importantly remove the primary motivation for the violence, our soldier’s direct presence. This is not defeat but rather a modulation of strategy and a willingness to bring new ideas to the floor.

5.) Fire Rumsfeld, and purge the Neo Con elements in the administration. They have failed. Install someone like Joe Biden as secretary of Defense (if he would take the job). Make a real gesture to the other side. Bush you can do more than be a wounded lame duck for the rest of your presidency. You can be courageous and make bold moves.

6.) Put clear timelines and exit strategies on our operations. Use these explicit plans to rally specific and tangible support from other nations and the UN.

7.) Push hard on the international diplomatic front to internationalize the effort. Work closer with Pakistan and remove the margin of ambivalence and deception. This starts by being committed to negotiation. Arrogant, paternalistic, cowboy diplomatics do not fly in other parts of the world.

8.) Quit stonewalling the American public. Come clean about the mistakes and present yourself as open to new ideas.

I am not a foreign policy expert but I offer these suggestions in good faith. The war does not have to be a partisan issue. If you want, the nation can come together again. It will be an up hill battle to win back the trust of the Democrats and the American public but it can be done. And who knows the president might even be able to push his approval back up to the 50% levels again.

War is over if you want it Mr. President.