Among the many unfortunate things Obama inherited from the Bush Administration is the Afghan war. It is a problem that he is constantly seeking solutions for and so far the most significant thing he has achieved is the announcement of a pullout beginning next year.
So far it has been a costly exercise for the United States. Last Tuesday’s suicide bombing marked the loss of the 1000th American life in the war in Afghanistan. What began as a hunt for Osama Bin Laden has over the years turned into a liberation operation. That operation saw Hamid Karzai, a non-entity as far as the Afghans were concerned, being installed as President of the country. Although he may have been Bush’s man in Afghanistan, he is certainly not Obama’s man. This has compounded the problem for Obama as he struggles to find a solution.
So far the operation in Afghanistan seems to have yielded nothing solid. For example, the successful offensive in Marja, which seemed to drive out the Taliban from that area, seems impotent as they have started emerge from the woodwork tree months later. Experts are predicting the same to happen in Kandahar when the offensive begins there soon. However, the battle for Kandahar won’t be easy; the region has been a stronghold for the Taliban for many years and the fight will be bloody for both sides. The fact that the offensive has been advertised like some PPV event, will only serve to prep the Taliban better for retaliation. Obama’s headache is only going to get worse.