We?re getting the worst of all worlds in Afghanistan: We?re not winning, and we?re not cutting our tragic losses. Most Americans don?t care because they?re not feeling any of the tragic losses. A tiny, tiny portion of the population is doing the fighting, and those troops are sent into the war zone for tour after tour, as if they?re attached to a nightmarish yo-yo.
Some kind of shared sacrifice is in order, but neither Mr. Bush nor Mr. Obama called on Americans to make any real sacrifices in connection with either of these wars. The way to fight a war is to mobilize the country ? not just the combat troops ? behind an integrated wartime effort. To do that, leaders have to persuade the public that the war is worth fighting, and worth paying for.
What we have in Afghanistan is a war that most Americans believe is not worth fighting ? and certainly not worth raising taxes to pay for. President Obama has not made a compelling case for the war and has set a deadline for the start of withdrawal that seems curiously close to the anticipated start of his 2012 campaign for a second term.
It?s time to bring the curtain down for good on these tragic, farcical wars. The fantasy of democracy blossoming at the point of a gun in Iraq and spreading blithely throughout the Middle East has been obliterated. And it?s hard to believe that anyone buys the notion that the U.S. can install a successful society in the medieval madness of Afghanistan.
For those who haven?t noticed, we have a nation that needs rebuilding here at home. Maybe we could muster some shared sacrifice on that front.
It?s time to bring the troops back, and nurse the wounded, and thank them all for their extraordinary service. It?s time to come to our senses and put the lunatic?s manual aside.
