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Here’s what General James N. Mattis thinks, as reported by the Virginia Pilot. Mattis’ analysis bears heeding because he is the new commanding general of U.S. Central Command and arguably America’s greatest living general.
Mattis said he returned from a trip to Afghanistan about six weeks ago.
“The hardest thing for me to convey,” he said, “is that progress and violence can co-exist…. ‘How can there be progress?’ we say. ‘Look at these IED attacks.’ The fact is there is progress.”
The Pakistani army has made strides in eliminating safe havens used by the Pakistani and Afghani Taliban, he said, and there’s been a falling out between the two groups.
“That’s all good. As far as I’m concerned, let dog eat dog at this point.”
Schools are another sign of progress. Girls who were prohibited from education under the Taliban are now going to class.
“This enemy does recognize the danger of education to young people, and what it could do to their message,” he said.
He does not see Afghanistan as another Vietnam. “It was understandable that some people in Vietnam, under an unresponsive government, said ‘Well, I have hope that things will get better if Uncle Ho comes in with his Communists.’ ”
Afghanis don’t have that illusion, he said.
They have already lived under the Taliban’s rule and know their lives won’t get better if they return to power.
He uses the so-called Sunni Awakening in Iraq as an example of how things can turn around…
The American people should not lose faith now, he said [emphasis added].
“The only way we can lose this war is if we lose it in Paris and Brussels, in Berlin and Washington, if we lose it in the bars in Boston and the living rooms of Illinois. That’s where we would lose it [emphasis added].
“Because our message is stronger, our troops are plenty skillful, and the ferocity and ethical approach to fighting that our troops represent is what eventually turns a skeptical population against the enemy and over to our side.”
No more defeatist Groundhog Days. We can win this war — provided we don’t give up, and so long as we don’t surrender to the hopelessness and despair of our chattering classes, who, after all, never met a war they thought we could win.
You can follow John Guardiano on Twitter: @JohnRGuardiano
