May 12, 2017
Welcome to the Forever War
According to legend, Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky famously said that “you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”
So it is with Afghanistan and the Trump administration, which is reportedlyconsidering a recommitment to the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan, as well as the deployment of 3,500 more U.S. troops. None of this squares with President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge of an “America First” foreign policy, nor with his healthy skepticism of how America’s long wars in Iraq and Afghanistanwere managed under Presidents Bush and Obama. No matter. The Afghanistan conflict grinds on, and although Trump may not be interested in the details of this war, the war is interested in Trump.
However, before the U.S. reaffirms its commitment to the “forever war” in Afghanistan, we must confront some fundamental questions about what we are doing fighting (and dying) there and whether these new troop commitments will accomplish anything good. If Trump and his generals cannot resolve these questions, they should not commit more troops to fight in Afghanistan.
Read the full article at Slate.
More from CNAS
-
Pete Hegseth’s Views About Women and Military Standards
Podcast
In recent weeks, Hegseth walked back comments made while promoting his book, where he said women did not belong in ground combat units. Without citing specific examples, he co...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski
-
Sharper: Trump's First 100 Days
Commentary
Donald Trump takes office in a complex and volatile global environment. Rising tensions with China, the continued war in Ukraine, and instability in the Middle East all pose s...
By Charles Horn
-
Convene the E3 to Address the Iranian Nuclear Threat
Commentary
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration should convene the United Kingdom (UK), France, and Germany—the E3—to coordinate a strategy for dealing with Iran’s nuclear pro...
By Jonathan Lord
-
Tackle the Military Recruiting Crisis
Commentary
The Trump administration should drive a whole-of-government approach to address the military recruiting crisis and ensure that the nation has the quality force necessary to de...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski
