US President Obama’s speech tonight will outline the reasoning for sending more troops to Afaghanistan. I look forward to hearing it. The rhetoric around the number, 30,000 pluse whatever other NATO countries will add to the pot, is already building.

Too many. Too few.

It does not, I would suggest, matter. It’s not the number of troops sent – it’s the purpose they’re sent for.

If the purpose is to “spread democracy”, let’s save the lives of a whole lot of young men and women and just stay home.
If the purpose is to destroy the Taliban, perhaps a history lesson from the days of the Soviets would be in order.

Not just the US, but NATO as a whole, is stuck with a mess of another’s making. But that’s not really the problem. The problem is that we keep doing the same thing the messmaker did, and expect a different result – the textbook definition of insanity.

So why not try something else? If standing toe to toe and slugging at one another until somebody falls down isn’t working, perhaps it’s time to change the game.

This may be President Obama’s one and only opportunity to change the face of the Afghan war. After tonight it is his war.

I look forward, none too optimistically, to see what he does with it.

David

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