Why we must stick with Obama's Afghan strategy

General Petraeus with General Abdul Khalil Bakhten.

Washington Post  "The U.S. presence in Afghanistan is driven also by our struggle with al-Qaeda senior leadership and the future of Pakistan. International forces stationed along the Durand Line are about 30 miles from many of the most dangerous centers of Islamist terrorism in Pakistan. From those positions, we can understand what is happening in Pakistan and, occasionally, take action. We should never underestimate the importance of this positional advantage. It cannot be replaced by technology, discussion with Islamabad or anything else. From the Afghan border we have a unique vantage point on the groups that most directly threaten the American homeland and the stability of the entire nuclear-armed subcontinent."

The shallow "we've been there almost a decade and it's time to end this" argument just won't wash in reality.

Frederick W. Kagan is director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute. Kimberly Kagan is president of the Institute for the Study of War. They are independent military analysts who have conducted research for commanders in Afghanistan.


Max Boot: More Progress in Afghanistan  "...one of the more unsung good-news stories out of Afghanistan: the success that U.S. troops have been having in preventing catastrophic terrorist attacks in Kabul by the Haqqani Network."