Why U.S. troops must stay in Afghanistan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-us-troops-must-stay-in-afghanistan/2012/11/23/e452bb92-3287-11e2-9cfa-e41bac906cc9_story.htmlWhy U.S. troops must stay in Afghanistan
By Kimberly Kagan and Frederick W. Kagan, Published: November 23
Will the United States continue to conduct counterterrorism operations in South Asia? That question is central to any discussion about U.S. troop presence and mission in Afghanistan. The answer can be yes only if we pursue and support the current strategy, retaining roughly 68,000 troops in Afghanistan into 2014 and about half that number thereafter.
Amateurs can discuss imaginary, over-the-horizon “light footprint” strategies. Professionals must consider logistics. Physics and military reality dictate the minimum number of troops needed to have any U.S. presence in Afghanistan without inviting calamities worse than the events in Benghazi, Libya. The presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan alone permits counterterrorism operations in Pakistan. It’s this simple: Either we keep the necessary number of troops in Afghanistan or operations against al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Afghanistan and Pakistan cease.
he principal terrorist concentrations in South Asia are in Pakistan’s federally administered tribal areas. Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups have sought safety in Afghanistan primarily in Konar and Nuristan provinces. U.S. forces could target terrorists without maintaining a ground presence in three ways: using armed Predator drones, special mission units or precision-guided munitions dropped from manned aircraft. Without bases in Afghanistan, the tyranny of distance rules out the first two options; the requirement for accuracy and certainty rules out the last.
North Waziristan is more than 600 miles from the nearest coastline; the other sanctuaries are farther. The U.S. Air Force reports that armed Predator drones have a range of about 1,150 miles — not enough to get to Waziristan and back again from the coast, much less to orbit and observe a target. Special mission units would have to parachute from transport aircraft because no helicopter in the U.S. inventory can fly that far. But they could not return because aircraft cannot land in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan or in Pakistan. Manned aircraft can drop precision weapons on targets in Afghanistan, but they fly too fast to loiter over potential targets. Their bombs hit precisely what they are aimed at, but fast-moving aircraft cannot ensure that the target was actually there. There is no over-the-horizon solution to targeting terrorists in South Asia.
unhappycamper comment: Fucking warmongers......
= new reply since forum marked as read
Based on what I've seen you write and post in the past, I was surprised to see this article posted by you. But your comment explains it all.
My two 'vacations' in Vietnam and my Cambodian 'vacation' has shown me the horrors of war.
I think it is criminal what the Department of War is doing to (or not doing for) our veterans. The one lesson I learned is you need to take care of your veterans. With the exception of the Grenada adventure, veterans have been left in the dirt after pretty much every conflict.
After every military adventure the money required to take of veterans seems to evaporate in some sort of a peace dividend. Where does this money go? More aircraft carriers, more fighter jets, more bombers, more weapons, more submarines. 
(crazy rant)
It's all about priorities. There isn't any glory in taking care of those who served in the previous and forgotten wars. We need to always look to the future for more wars that we can start so we can bring the glory of combat to others. (I hope you can pick up on my sarcasm)
Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that I served on the side of the American military but I only volunteered for service our of my own ignorance and misinterpretation for what it actually would entail. The conflicts I saw on TV when I was a younger child were sterilized by the media and none of the actual carnage inflicted was shown. The first Gulf War was light on casualties and this gave me the misinterpretation that war wasn't nearly as painful as it once was in our history. The other military operations during my childhood (I was born in 1980) came quickly and, for the Americans, relatively painlessly. The movies and popular media also did a great job glorifying it.
The media and the government censorship of what our wars actually entail is criminal.
Wasn't Audie Murphy a conscientious objector? Isn't it funny that the people who have had the most experience with war seem to be the most against it? People, like the younger version of myself before I fought in my own war, need to be made aware of this. It is a dis-service to not report the full spectrum of what war entails as is done by our media. Most combat guys seem to keep their stories to themselves which leaves an air of mystery false glory to what they did in the war, however people need to hear the messed up stuff that happens in wars.
The few stories that have been brought to light about Solders urinating on people they just killed or posing with the bodies like they were hunting trophies aren't as rare as most people would like to think. I've been going out of my way to talk more and more about what I did and saw to remove the mystic around my service. I look and seem like a nice enough person, but all I have to do is turn that selector switch from "safe" to "semi" and I'm something completely different. I did and saw some really messed up stuff. War did a number on me and changed me in ways that most of my closest family members aren't aware of and I've been doing my best to bring to light. Additionally, most people aren't aware of the far-reaching impact our wars have on the civilian populations that we inflict it on. People occasionally see our own broken vets and rally around them like they are some sort of trophy to be proud of, but the don't stop to think about the victims of our wars on the ground they were fought. I hate it when I'm thanked for my service. I'm not proud of what I did and I doubt that most people would thank me if they knew what my service entailed. Yet I do things like have a BSM for an avatar on this forum and make sure that everyone knows that I'm a combat veteran 
My opinion of my service is obviously conflicted and I don't quite get it either.
I loved your Thanksgiving post. It really hit a chord with me and I repeated it nonstop at work. Everyone thinks I'm crazy to begin with (and they are right) so I really don't care what they think of me.
I don't know if I made any sense here, but I figure I'll post it regardless. Anyways, I really value and appreciate what you a few of the other vets write on this forum. Keep it up. I feel that my service to our country and children really only began with my exit from the military and I thank you for what you continue to say.
(/crazy rant)
