Afghanistan: Defeat by any other Name?

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “U.S. Pulling Back in Afghan Valley It Called Crucial,” describes a retreat by U.S. forces that the Taliban will tout as a great victory.

More than 103 U.S. troops have died protecting the Pech Valley in eastern Afghanistan, and the military has decided to withdraw from the area “to better protect Afghan civilians in the cities.” They are predictably calling the move a “redeployment.”

However, as the article notes, it was the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from the Pech Valley that was the immediate precursor to their defeat, and though one hopes the same situation will not be true for the United States, it’s not as if our war effort is undergoing any stunning successes.

The article also notes that this decision will create “reverse safe havens” for Al Qaeda, Taliban and other militant forces. Just as Pakistan has served as a safe haven from pursuing U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the Pech Valley may serve as a safe haven from pursuing Pakistani Army forces. I’m not a military man, but it seems like the safe havens are multiplying, definitely not a good sign.

It is possible that Afghan forces alone will be able to maintain security in the Pech Valley, but one Afghan troop described it as “a suicide mission.”