The United States WILL lose the war in Afghanistan. As in Vietnam, DIPLOMATS and POLITICIANS armed with nothing more than bright ideas, academic theories, and fervent wishes are putting their noses into places they don’t belong.
Any “GOOD” executive realizes you get the best, most able and competent leaders and then get the hell out of the way.
Even Roosevelt and Truman, while they set national policy did NOT direct minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day strategy for the military. Eisenhower was ordered to invade Europe and he was allowed to plan the greatest invasion in history and was given the tools to do the job. The same held in the Pacific. I may well be wrong, but I think the ONLY “specific, direct, single (double) event personally directed by Truman” was the dropping of the two Atomic bombs, which ended the war.
Truman did NOT interfere with day to day operations in Korea, but the men on the ground fought the war according to national policy. When MacArthur vocally criticized that policy and desired to expand the war, Truman did what the president had to do. MacArthur never “offended” Truman, he challenged him openly and loudly.
We are going rapidly down an oft traveled road to a bad result. As usual the price will be paid in waster American blood, while the denizens of ACADEME will smile.