Michael's Dispatches - Afghanistan: Trump Going in Circles

Michael Yon Online Magazine ^ | Aug 24, 2017 | Michael Yon

[Oatka]

President Trump thinks he can solve the AfPak dilemma. In his speech, Trump talked about winning. There is no winning to be had beyond safeguarding our national interests.

This is all a distraction from a gigantic problem: China. On our scale of concern, Afghanistan is microscopic by comparison to China and other challenges, yet on our scale of priorities, the price of nation building in Afghanistan dwarfs the price of securing our borders.

Afghanistan is at the periphery of our influence bubble. Pluto. Our footprint is a speck in the Asian beyond. The President called on Pakistan and India to do their parts. How often we have heard this.

[Oatka]

This is excepted as it is long and has a ton of photos, a couple of 'em gory.

IMO, a first-rate read on the mess in Afghanistan and good info on the various tribes there.

I followed him when he was reporting the Iraq war and liked his no-holds-barred approach. He's doing the same now with Afghanistan.

[FreedomPoster]

I’m on his mailing list because I sent him some $$ back in the day. Worthwhile read for sure, bump.

I’ve been saying for a decade or so that we needed to have exited Afghanistan after the punitive expedition phase, but before the meals on wheels phase. You can’t “nation build” when raw materials are lacking, as they are.

[Bratch]

He may be right.

On the other hand...

North Korea Fires Three Short Range Ballistic Missiles – Reports of Failures

In the days between the 301 trade launch and the DPRK missile launch, President Trump put additional pressure on China via expectations of Pakistan and today sanctions against Venezuela. Both Pakistan and Venezuela rely on Chinese money; the pressure is mounting on Beijing; the communist old guard don’t handle pressure well. Ergo, they fall back on what is familiar to them; they chose the missile launch.

[bioqubit]

Michael, God bless you. But you are downplaying WAY too much the importance of Afghanistan to China. If we leave, they will have free play in that region, to our detriment.

[gandalftb]

Never have more than five strategy goals that can be easily understood and measured for success:

The Pakhtun/Pashtun tribes are 99% of the trouble. Partition their areas into a separate, border secured country.

Garrison that country with Coalition-led Afghan troops for day and night operations to include hot pursuit into Pakistan.

Eradicate the poppy/opium/heroin industry.

Resume walking patrols at night, own the night, bribe the locals for intel.

Use armed drones to patrol all the convoy-driven roads, fire on or ground interdict anyone stopped on those roads after dark.

If we continue to apply the same old strategy, we will have the same results, bust a move.....