A Sweet Sixteen

IT is no secret that the U.S. has its hands full in Afghanistan. Warlords masquerading as “regional leaders,” criminal Islamists, heroin trafficking, and general lawlessness are but a few of the immediate challenges. And then there are the longer-term realities: severe poverty, a total lack of infrastructure, etc.

Faced with all this, pundits in Europe and America have been quick to declare a U.S. failure. They view Afghanistan as a kind of quicksand, where effort only gets one stuck deeper. Ultimately, they claim, America’s resolve will flag and the whole mission will come undone.

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S. Frederick Starr

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IT is no secret that the U.S. has its hands full in Afghanistan. Warlords masquerading as “regional leaders,” criminal Islamists, heroin trafficking, and general lawlessness are but a few of the immediate challenges. And then there are the longer-term realities: severe poverty, a total lack of infrastructure, etc.

Faced with all this, pundits in Europe and America have been quick to declare a U.S. failure. They view Afghanistan as a kind of quicksand, where effort only gets one stuck deeper. Ultimately, they claim, America’s resolve will flag and the whole mission will come undone.