Major changes needed in Afghanistan

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney writes that if we are to win in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal isn’t the only official worthy of firing, and President Obama must abandon his denial that we are at war with “radical Islam.” (HT Kenny B.)

First to the State Department: Ambassadors Eikenberry and Holbrooke have long outlived their effectiveness. They are a drag on success in this difficult war. They must go.

Next, to the Department of Defense: This a war is not an “Overseas Contigency Operation (OCO)” as President Obama’s administration calls it. We have lost 89 ISAF soldiers and 53 US soldiers this month with 2 days left to go.Mr. President, we are in a violent war against radical Islam and your denial of this fact will ensure our defeat.

You and your administration cannot even define the ideology we are fighting against. John Brennan, your National Security adviser for counterterrorism, thinks “jihad” means “holy struggle” not a war against infidels.

Your Secretary of Defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have accepted these ridiculous new definitions of the threat.

This means you, and your national security leadership team are clueless about how to defeat this violent threat against America.

They must all go and you must change your senseless strategy.

It is unfortunate that nearly all of the flag officers that make sense have retired.

I have seen no indications that this administration desires victory in Afghanistan. We can debate who should be sacked and who shouldn’t be, but regardless of whether McChrystal, Petraeus, or Sun Tzu is commanding ISAF, the result will look pretty much the same as they must follow the Commander-in-Chief. So rather than simply sacking commanders and ambassadors (treating the symptoms and not the disease), I would like to take things one step further: Let’s go back to the drawing board.

The president must answer these questions (truthfully):

1. Who is our enemy in Afghanistan and what are their intentions?
2. What are our intentions in Afghanistan?
3. How do you define victory in Afghanistan?
4. What are you doing to achieve victory in Afghanistan?

America deserves clear and concise answers, not lies and distractions. If his answers stink, then “We the People” must remind him that the government ultimately works for us. We must fight in Afghanistan – that’s not the debate we should have. It should be who we are fighting and how we should fight them. Worry about firing commanders and diplomats after we have a solid and just foundation.