by Mario T. García
Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee, has come under major criticism for his comments concerning the war in Afghanistan and, in particular, his assertion that the Obama administration should have learned from history that no foreign intervention or occupation has ever succeeded in that war-torn country.
Some Republicans are calling for Steele's resignation and some Democrats are making political-hay over Steele's remarks.
However, the fact of the matter is that Steele is right on this point: Previous foreign interventions whether the British or Soviet all came to unsuccessful conclusions. The U.S. involvement will not succeed either and all evidence points to that. While President Obama will pay the political price for this, we should not have been surprised at his escalation of the war, since during the campaign he was very clear that his priority would be Afghanistan and not Iraq. Still, it is a disappointment to others and me who voted for him as a peace and diplomacy candidate to see him beginning to become mired in this endless war.
The threat to U.S. national security that the Taliban might prove to be if they regain power by allowing Al Queda back in can be dealt with through intelligence and the destruction of terrorist training camps or headquarters through the use of Special Forces or drone attacks and does not necessitate the sending of 100,000 American troops and other NATO ones into harm's way.
While I don't agree with Michael Steele on almost all issues, I do on this one.
