The Forgotten War

Before the war on terror became all Iraq all the time, there was this little excursion in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan and Iraq: Know The Differences!

Iraq - No connection to 9-11
Afghanistan - Taliban government harbored actual 9-11 conspirators

Iraq - Enemy everywhere
Afghanistan - Enemy contained in a specific region

Iraq - Nobody sure who to like
Afganistan - Nobody likes the Taliban

Iraq - Analogies to WWII specious
Afghanistan - Given there is a stable front line and a single united enemy, WWII analogies might make political and historical sense

Iraq - Other than UK, US practically forced to go it alone
Afghanistan - Worldwide coalition supported invasion and current fighting is multinational including UK, Canada and Netherlands

Iraq - Needs more troops
Afghanistan - Needs more troops

Hey! Both actually have something in common! The reason I bring this up is Afghanistan NATO commander James Jones is requesting more troops for the very hot battle in southern Afghanistan. You probably will not see much made of this in the news but this is the real front line of the war on terror. In recent months, the Taliban have made a resurgence in southern Afghanistan. Allied NATO troops opened a new offensive to not only contain the enemy in a single area but destroy them once and for all. Like a cornered animal, the enemy is fighting back fiercely and our allies need help. Due to our choice to open a second front, it is help we will likely be unable to provide.

While I fervently hope that General Jones and his forces are able to finally wipe this scourge off the face of the Earth, I am also saddened.

All of the rhetoric we have faced in the past three years could have worked politically, morally and militarily. If only we had not forgotten Afghanistan.