I just received an email from Senator Webb's office announcing that Webb would discuss U.S. policy in Afghanistan on Meet the Press this Sunday. Here's an excerpt from the email:
In recent weeks, Senator Webb has emphasized that the Obama administration's review of U.S. policies in Afghanistan must contain clear and attainable objectives with a defined and understandable endpoint and warned that the United States runs the risk of being perceived as an occupying force.
Responding to General McChrystal's recommendations, Senator Webb stated that, "we have reached a turning point in Afghanistan as to whether we are going to formally adopt nation-building as a policy."
[...]
Senator Webb has also questioned the wisdom of fighting international terrorism through the construction of large military structures such as those that have been used in Iraq and now in Afghanistan, pointing out that in strategic terms, the billions of dollars spent on such positions tend to tie down U.S. forces, to the advantage of international terrorist units that remain mobile. He cited the departure of Al Qaeda from Iraq as an example, and instead favored "highly maneuverable forces against an intrinsically mobile enemy."
I think that Jim Webb makes some great points here. I've been thinking along the same lines and really starting to wonder whether there's any way for us to "win" - or even to define what a "win" would be - in Afghanistan. If not, then what are we doing there? If it's to prop up the corrupt Hamid Karzai as president or to try and create a Democracy there, I don't think that's a good idea at all. If it's to fight Al Qaeda, then I don't see how we do that without broadening the war into lawless, western Pakistan. But do we really want to do that? Also, we need to look at the money that's funding al Qaeda, fundamentalist madrasas, etc., and the fact that much of this money comes from oil exporting countries like Saudi Arabia. For this reason and many others (economic, environmental), we need to get off of oil ASAP, thus defunding the countries that fund "the terrorists." If not, then I fear we're fighting a losing battle in Afghanistan. Anyway, it will be interesting to hear what Senator Webb has to say on Sunday on this subject...
