Image via WikipediaGeneral Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, did not do that. In the current issue of Rolling Stone magazine (the one with Lady Gaga on the cover, if you're interested), you will find McChrystal ripping into everyone from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden to other government officials concerning the conduct of the war.
That is why Obama decided to replace McChrystal with General David Petraeus, the man credited with turning around a losing situation in Iraq. He and the President seem to be on the same page as far as what they believe the objective to fighting the war in Afghanistan ought to be: Defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, help Afghan president Hamid Karzai set up a legitimately democratic government, then start getting the heck out in 2011.
Afghanistan? You mean there's still a war there?
Yes Virginia (and every other state), there's still a war there, even though you haven't heard much about it lately. It began nearly a decade ago as a response to the 9/11/01 attacks, with the original purpose being to get as many members of Al Qaeda as possible--and that included Osama bin Laden, dead or alive. Then President George W. Bush decided to start another war in Iraq, and you know the rest. Only when things quieted down there did the emphasis shift back to Afghanistan.
So what do we have now? The Taliban is keeping the fight going, corruption mars Karzai's government, and what's left of Al Qaeda (including Bin Laden, assuming he's still alive) have fled to the relative safety of the mountains of Pakistan. Also, at least a thousand American soldiers have been sent home in body bags to date.
No matter who is in command, the real challenge for President Obama is not in motivating the soldiers to continue fighting, but in convincing the public that the war in Afghanistan is still necessary even after its original meaning has been lost. At this point, people just want the war over with.
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