Taliban Gets Upper Hand in Afghan War

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright August 9, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                         

             When a U.S. Chinook helicopter went down in a remote valley in the Taliban-controlled Sayd Abad district of Wardak province Aug. 6, it reinforced the ugly reality of the Afghan War:  That the U.S. can’t win.  Nearing its 10-year anniversary, Operation Enduring Freedom began Oct. 7, less than one month after Sept. 11.  Former President Bush made the right decision to go after Sept. 11-mastermind Osama bin Laden and his Afghan protector, Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar.  While the Taliban had nothing to do with Sept. 11, they did provide Bin Laden safe haven from which to plan the attacks.  When Omar refused to hand over Bin Laden, Bush ordered the attack against the Taliban, driving the Islamic regime out of Kabul Nov.12, 2001.  U.S. forces eventually closed in on Bin Laden at Tora Bora Dec. 16, 2001, before the slippery terrorist escaped to no man’s land.

            Once Bin Laden receded into the mountainous borderland between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the U.S. should have retooled its strategy and handed the new Afghan government responsibility.  At great expense to the Pentagon, Bush chose to stay in Afghanistan, put the war on hold and proceed to a new battlefront in Iraq.  By March 20, 2003, when “shock-and-awe” lit up Baghdad, Afghan was an afterthought, put on the backburner to Operation Iraqi Freedom:  Ridding Iraq of Saddam Hussein and his alleged arsenal of weapons of mass destruction was Bush’s mission.  His detour in Iraq diverted most military assets form Afghanistan, into, what Bush called, the “new battlefront in the war on terror.”  When weapons of mass destruction were not found after toppling Saddam April 9, only three weeks after the invasion, the U.S. dug in to Iraq with over 300,000 troops, eventually reduced to 50,000.

            With the Iraq War winding down, Bush redeployed more troops to Afghanistan in hopes of getting Bin Laden and Omar.  It took nearly three years into President Barack Obama’s first term before the U.S. finally got Bin Laden May 1 at a safe-house in Abbottabad, Pakistan.  While there still work to be done, the Aug. 6 downing of a U.S. Chinook helicopter reminds the U.S. of how U.S. forces are sitting ducks.  Afghan’s government and security services of Hamid Karzai has close family ties to the ousted Taliban government composed largely of Kandahar’s ethnic Pashtuns.  New information about last Saturday’s attack that killed 30 U.S. troops, 22 of whom elite Navy Seals, indicates a set up by Taliban sympathizers inside Karzai government.  U.S. forces were apparently “tipped off” by the Karzai government about a safe house in Taliban-controlled Wardak province.

            What makes the attack so egregious and such a bad omen for U.S. forces involves the methodical way in which U.S. forces were lulled into the Taliban’s trap.  U.S.-backed Karzai government “thinks this was a retaliation attack for the killing of Osama bin Laden.”  Intelligence in Wardak province indicated that the attack was orchestrated by Taliban Commander Qari Tahir who had reliable intel on the Chinook’s flight plan.  “The Taliban knew which route the helicopter would take,” said Karzai’s spokesman, admitting to an inside job.   Whether elements inside the Karzai government tipped off the Taliban is anyone’s guess.  It’s been long known by the U.S. military that Karazai’s government and military is heavily infiltrated by the Taliban, making the U.S. mission all the more impossible.’  Saturday’s loss of 30 U.S. troops by a coordinated missile strike represents a new phase for the Taliban.

                   Responding the loss of 22 Navy Seals and eight other soldiers, Obama had some sobering words.  “The deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan,” said Barack, ignoring the big picture.  With Bin Laden dead, the U.S. no longer needs to put 100,000 U.S. troops into harm’s way.  While Afghan President Karzai “reiterated his condolences,” the military—and American public—has a right to know the mission in Afghanistan.  Ferrying 38 troops in one helicopter seems risky when you consider the Taliban has rocket propelled grenades and heat-seeking missiles, making helicopter travel too risky.  Instead of more platitudes, the president must show the kind of leadership that finally decides that the Afghan war offers no tangible benefits to the United States.

             Tragic military losses of irreplaceable elite forces should force a painful reassessment of the Afghan mission.  More platitudes about “defeating the enemy,” when the enemy resides inside the U.S.-backed government warrants an urgent second look. “The two presidents reaffirmed their commitment to the mission in Afghanistan, which is critical to the security of both our countries, and agreed to stay in close contact,” said a joint statement from Obama and Karzai.  Even former Centcom Commander David Petraeus—now CIA Director—admitted the U.S. can’t successfully fight a prolonged guerrilla war or counterinsurgency against a national movement that has considerable popular supportl.   U.S. officials must carefully investigate the recent tragedy to determine whether the Taliban were fed the flight path of the Chinook by Taliban elements inside the Karzai government.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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