Will 9/8/09

Withdraw From Afghanistan

My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: This is the big bomb that he dropped a week ago. He sees this developing into another Vietnam. Ingredients include: corrupt government, apathetic people, and feckless allies. Plus the enemy has North Vietnam style sanctuary in Pakistan.

Quote:

Even though violence exploded across Iraq after, and partly because of, three elections, Afghanistan's recent elections were called "crucial." To what? They came, they went, they altered no fundamentals, all of which militate against American "success," whatever that might mean.

My Views: My first thought was the predictablity of this. For years we have been told that Afganistan was the good war and that it was Iraq that was was the bad one. (John Kerry made this the central issue in his campaign against George W. Bush in 2004.)

Now that we're withdrawing from Iraq, sure enough, right on schedule, the calls for withdrawals from Afganistan begin. For many, being for Afganistan but against Iraq was just a ruse to be able to be dovish to left wing voters and hawkish to right wing voters.

As for George Will, these reasons he cites have been known for years. So, why didn't he come out against Afganistan before now?

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George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.