(The following Op/Ed was submitted to the Editorial Page Editor of the News Media Group’s Pioneer Press on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of 9-11. At that time, virtually all “news” organizations were focusing on Iraq – they, too, had taken their eye off the ball. Three years ago, Afghanistan’s heroin prouction had reached 90% of the world’s supply. Today, not surprisingly, Afghanistan still produces 90% of the world’s heroin supply. As we mourn the lives lost 8 years ago, this Op/Ed written three years ago demonstrates that old saying: the more things change, the more they stay the same.)

The RumsFailed Doctrine

On September 11th, 2001, our country was attacked. President Bush rightfully issued ultimatums that the Taliban ignored, and he made the correct decision to send troops into harm’s way. Americans united and the world stood with us as American forces led coalition troops into Afghanistan.

The initial results were spectacular. Our volunteer military performed with valor and distinction in this war of necessity. In little more than two months, our enemies had been driven from power and the interim Afghani government was sworn in. The Taliban, Osama Bin Laden, and al-Qaeda were on the run.

The Battle of Tora Bora in Afghanistan’s White Mountains marked the change in U.S. military doctrine. The replaced Powell Doctrine called for overwhelming air and ground forces and a specific exit strategy. But this is the era of the Rumsfeld Doctrine. Indigenous troops staged the direct assaults backed by American air support but only a few American Special Forces Teams. The perimeter of Tora Bora was left unsecured. Most experts now agree that this strategic decision allowed the majority of trapped al-Qaeda fighters to escape.

Then the colossal error by Rumsfeld and others to more or less cut and run from Afghanistan to Iraq was made.

The lack of boots on the ground in Afghanistan prevented the country from achieving stability and peace. Whatever progress had been made quickly began to erode. The Taliban and Al Qaeda, far from being eliminated, have now regrouped, rearmed, and recommenced insurgency operations. Schools that were built have been attacked; many have closed. Newly-built roads now provide ambush opportunities for the Taliban.

Poppy fields flourish. Afghanistan now produces around 90% of the world’s heroin. The drug trade accounts for half of the country’s economy. Despite the connection between narcotics and terrorism, the Bush administration, with a compliant Republican-led Congress, has not devoted the proper attention to Afghanistan’s drug problem. For example, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) began a multi-national law enforcement program in 2002, with a goal of breaking the link between drug trafficking and terrorism. But the continually increasing Taliban and Al Qaeda violence (fueled by narco-dollars) shows this hasn’t worked. U.S. and NATO forces are now in fact engaged in intense fighting amid Afghanistan’s deadliest spate of violence since U.S. led forces toppled the hard-line Taliban regime.

As in Iraq, there is no obvious exit strategy in Afghanistan. The limitations of the ‘War On The Cheap’ Rumsfeld Doctrine as exemplified at Tora Bora, are evidenced in the prosecution of both the war of necessity in Afghanistan and the war of choice in Iraq. The results of cutting expenses on the front end has incurred incredible expenses on the back end. Congress’ inaction speaks for itself. In our system of representative democracy, Congress serves as the check and balance to ensure change when change is needed. Over the last five years, Congress has unquestioningly given the administration everything it has wanted with no oversight. In fact, this year’s Republican-led Congress is eerily reminiscent of the 1948 ‘Do Nothing Congress’.

Either it is time to go back to the Powell doctrine, or to implement a new doctrine based largely on input from the officer corps of the United States Armed Services, not armchair warfare think tank civilians. However, the implementation of a new military doctrine is the prerogative of the new president to be elected in 2008. This mid-term election is about whether Congress, as an institution, will exercise its constitutional duty to serve as a check and balance against ineffective executive policy, a duty the current Congress has abdicated. Certainly those who marched lockstep with this administration need to be held accountable for that abdication this November.

(co-written by Coleen Rowley, a retired FBI Agent and Candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd District, and Tommy Johnson, an Army Paratrooper veteran who served with the 7th Special Forces Group – Airborne; September 05, 2006)

The 2008 election of President Obama has occurred; it is now President Obama’s perogative to determine doctrine. Like it or not, this now is his war.

According to the Minnesota National Guard, “More than 20 Soldiers and/or Airmen are currently deployed to Afghanistan” and “More than 1600 Soldiers are currently deployed to Iraq.”

May God Bless, and Godspeed, to each and every one of ‘em.

Eight years after the horrific attack on America, Afghanistan is still a mess. From CBS News, today:

Sept. 11, 2009
Eight Years Later, War’s End Not in Sight

Americans are Increasingly Frustrated With the War in Afghanistan, and President Obama Can Offer No Easy Answers
By Brian Montopoli

It was supposed to be swift and decisive response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan, launched less than a month after the attacks and designed to destroy al Qaeda and the Taliban government that harbored the group.

Eight years later the conflict continues — and the endgame seems elusive. Insurgent Taliban forces have gained ground; coalition troop casualties have steadily risen; and Americans have grown increasingly weary of the war, which some critics have begun to describe as a potential quagmire.

Criticism of U.S. policy on Afghanistan from the president’s own party, meanwhile, has grown louder. Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold is calling for a “flexible timetable” for bringing the troops home, arguing that “we’ve become embroiled in a nation-building experiment that may distract us from combating al Qaeda and its affiliates.” House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey of Wisconsin, another Democrat, said Congress could cut war funding in the spring if things haven’t gotten significantly better.

And the criticism is not confined to the left. Last week, conservative columnist George Will offered a much-discussed column calling for the U.S. to pull troops out of Afghanistan and instead “do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units.”
(More, at CBSNews.com)

When our soldiers come home, make sure they are given a hero’s welcome. Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later.

(originally published at MnProgressiveProject.com)