Aussie Defense Chief: 10+ Years More Needed in Afghanistan Just to Make War "Winnable." Likens to Vietnam. Attacks Way Up

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Last week, we wrote that the situation in Afghanistan - stemming from our one war actually tied to bin Laden and al-Qaeda - has become suddenly much worse after years of inattention from the Bush Administration (Afghanistan is the New Iraq: Al-Qaeda and Taliban back in Action, 9/18). But more evidence from leading experts indicates that even our last assessment was overly optimistic.

One sign that things were amiss came from the fact that "Coalition nations can't even agree on how long they think it will take before they can leave. Canada says two to five more years, Britain says three to five more years, and the U.S. says we will need at least five more years." But Air Chief Angus Houston, Australia's senior defense commander, now says our military presence will be needed for at least another ten years.

But wait, didn't we defeat the Taliban and install a thriving, peaceful democracy more than four years ago? Apparently not, according to Houston, who said the decade commitment is needed just to make the war even winnable. "In likening the scale of the war to Vietnam," this article says, "Houston said yesterday the [Australian] Government should start planning for a long mission."

Yes, he used the "V" word. And it's sure not "victory."

Of course, you haven't heard any of this from American officials. Bush has got his hands full with the Iraq quagmire and certainly can't be distracted with such trivial matters as the reemergence of al-Qaeda. The news we reported in the last article was bad enough, but even those ominous facts seem to be only the tip of the iceberg.

According to Dr. Phillip Gordon from the Brookings Institution, "suicide bombings which were virtually unheard of in Afghanistan in the first few years of the international presence are now proliferating and are a regular occurrence."

And remember that little truce Pakistan made with terrorists along the border a few weeks ago? The U.S. military now says that American troops in the area have since seen a threefold increase in attacks against them.

The duo of Bush's devastatingly poor attempts at war and diplomacy has thus made the Afghanistan situation an absolute nightmare for Afghans, our troops, and our national security. Heck of a job, Bushie.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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