Posted by
Bert Chapman on Tuesday, October 06, 2009 4:05:27 PM
Note: The following comments are part of a letter I wrote published in the Lafayette, IN Journal & Courier on October 6, 2009.
The U.S. and its allies must commit themselves to achieving victory in Afghanistan. This will require our national leadership to educate the public on the serious consequences of allowing this region to return to being a sanctuary for Islamist terrorists desirous of having a base to launch 9/11-style attacks against us.
It also requires us to recognize that this struggle agaisnt terror will take several generations. The struggle mandates demolishing the Islamist theological pretensions of al-Qaida and the Taliban and requires radically transforming indigenous Afghan culture. The Afghan government will need to reduce its corruption and improving the living conditions of its people.
It is imperative that we make sustained commitment to Afghanistan, regardless of the costs, and not succumb to the moral weakness of claiming "this is not our war."
We face an adaptive, resilient, and ruthless enemy and must match and exceed it in all of these attributes if we are to be triumphant in this epochal war.