Why Are We Losing Afghanistan?

Miscalculated and under-emphasized the country time and again

By Heather McPherson, Newser User

Posted Aug 12, 2007 4:24 PM CDT

(Newser) – Critical misjudgments and a consistent refusal to commit resources undermined what appeared to be a US triumph in routing the Taliban in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports in a detailed analysis of how the "good war" seems to have gone bad. From Donald Rumsfeld’s early rebuff of international forces to the shift of manpower, equipment and leadership to Iraq, “it was a duct tape approach,” says a former Karzai aide.

American commanders made breathless misjudgments, the Times concludes, including underestimating the remaining forces of the Taliban and declining to pressure the Pakistani government to deal with the terrorists taking refuge there. Exacerbating the failure, the US committed less aid per capita than they had in Bosnia or even Haiti; signals in 2005 that the troop presence might evaporate left Afghans sorely distrustful of American commitment.

Taliban representatives Mullah Qari Bashir, left, and Mawlawi Nasrullah, right, talk to the media outside the Afghan Red Crescent Society of Ghazni province, where Taliban and Korean delegations will... (Associated Press)

In this image released by the U.S. Army on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007, a coalition forces medic treats injured Afghan police whowere attacked in an ambush along with coalition forces near Camp Price in Helmand... (Associated Press)

President Bush, right, and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, left, make their way through the trees as they walk to a joint press conference after their meetings, Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, at Camp David,... (Associated Press)

President Bush, left, accompanied by Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, right, speaks during their joint press conference, Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, at Camp David, Md. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (Associated Press)

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, center left, arrives at the Kabul International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. Musharraf is in Kabul to attend a Pakistan-Afghanistan... (Associated Press)

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Why Are We Losing Afghanistan?

Miscalculated and under-emphasized the country time and again

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Miscalculated and under-emphasized the country time and again

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Afghanistan • Taliban • Bosnia • Pakistan • Donald Rumsfeld • Hamid Karzai • Haiti • counterterrorism • al-Qaeda • Iraq war

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Obama Declares Afghanistan 'Precarious and Urgent'

Candidate pledges more US troops

Bin Laden Short on Hiding Spots: Officials

Pakistan offensive, troops in Afghanistan, drone attacks cut space

Afghans Accuse Pakistan of Karzai Plot

Say they have concrete evidence of link to April assassination attempt

Pakistan Hunts for Missing Diplomat

Ambassador to Afghanistan feared kidnapped near border

Bush, Karzai Diverge on Iran

Leaders discuss regional stability

About Us

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Newser By Users

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