“This entire effort is intended to put pressure on the Taliban, to have the Taliban understand that you will not win a battlefield victory,” Tillerson said. “We may not win one, but neither will you. So at some point, we have to come to the negotiating table and find a way to bring this to an end.”
This is some bullshit.
So this “entire effort” is to prove a point to the Taliban? To prevent them from having a moral victory? I am utterly disgusted that this is now accepted as a rationale for ramping up war in Afghanistan.
Trump thinks that we are going to “win” the war suddenly, if we “shift from a time-based approach to one based on conditions.” While he pathetically tries to blame the crapfest on the previous “strategy,” Trump is setting up for endless war. He is calling on Americans to just sacrifice ourselves without questioning when this war will end. Meanwhile, people from Afghanistan don’t even know why we are there.
I guess WE don’t even know why we are there, if people can be convinced we need a troop increase. More troops will accomplish what? We’re just supposed to trust, that increasing troops and removing deadlines will be the key to a win. What is a win – do we even know how a “win” would look? The moral victory discussed by Tillerson would be frustrating enough, but the worst part is… it’s not even true.
Tillerson is aware of the real victory conditions. For people like him, victory is money. Tillerson understands the value of the mineral resources under Afghanistan. American business knows about it. Tillerson was CEO of Exxon before taking the Secretary of State gig, so he knows the value of natural resources.
If you weren’t expecting me to get back to the real point of this war, I’m sorry to disappoint once again. Even if Trump happens to be the most boastful loudmouth in the history of the presidency, he’s not single-handedly changing this war to be about bragging rights. This thing has been about money for quite some time, and anyone who has been there would admit it if they could.