Anyone can understand why the American public is getting restless - 10 years after we invaded Afghanistan. Our economy sags as we continue to spend $10 billion a month for the military operation. Public confusion is compounded by the fact that Osama bin Laden was hiding in a Pakistani military town, not on some Afghan mountain. Meantime, senior administration officials say there's no sign that transnational terrorists are using Afghanistan as a launchpad.
So why are we still in Afghanistan at all?
The president explains that our goal is to stabilize the country sufficiently to prevent al-Qaeda and its allies from reestablishing bases there. Yet many Americans question the seriousness of this threat, or why we can't prevent it with drones or Special Forces, rather than regular soldiers.
Here's what I think Obama could have added to his explanation to make a stronger case.
First, the threat: Yes, it's true that the post-bin Laden core of al-Qaeda is hiding in Pakistan (while affiliated groups operate in Yemen and elsewhere). But al-Qaeda's militant allies, including some Afghan Taliban groups, highly dangerous Pakistani Taliban, and some foreign elements, have set up safe havens in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan that border Pakistan.
Some of these groups want to attack Western targets. Moreover, Pakistani Taliban are using eastern Afghanistan as a safe haven from which to hit at the Pakistani military across the border. Their goal is to undermine the nuclear-armed Pakistani state and get their hands on nuclear materiel.
U.S. officials won't publicly discuss their deep worry about Pakistan's vulnerability to Islamists. Unlike Iraq, which did not have al-Qaeda or nukes, Pakistan contains jihadis with global goals and nuclear weapons.
