Afghanistan Unravels

And so it begins. The unraveling of US and NATO involvement in Afghanistan. And it's going to be a very messy affair, from all indications. The Afghan war is now the longest active conflict in American history.

The war, started by George Bush in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was undertaken to take out the Taliban. The Islamist, Pashtun group was running almost all of the country at the time. The conflict has dragged on for well over ten years; killed all too many US and NATO troops; cost the United States and Europe a fortune; and, now it's time to end it and withdraw. There is simply no public support or political will for continuing the fight. The generals assure us they have a plan. That's a story we've heard before.

I'm reminded of the desperate "Vietnamization" program that was supposed to get us out of the Vietnam war with dignity - and in the process turn the role of defense and the maintenance of order and authority to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). For those who weren't around at the time - it didn't work out as planned. The last US troops, along with a cast local Vietnamese supporters, crowded onto helicopters on top of the US Embassy while the victorious North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Viet Cong marched down the main street of Saigon and occupied the capital city.

There is simply no reason to expect our exit from Afghanistan to be any different. The similarities are stunning, and very disconcerting. Of special concern, the following developments:

The re-arming of powerful militias, like the Ismaelis of Herat, ahead of the turnover.
The Taliban offensive against the largely Shiite Hazaras in Hazarajat.
The European Union has decided to suspend aid, due to rampant corruption.
The massacre trial of a US serviceman accused of a murderous rampage.
The involvement of Gen. John Allen, our in-country commander, in the Patreus scandal.