Afghanistan: Am I Missing Something?

I’ve brought this up before regarding Iraq, and now, with so much talk over whether to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, it would seem prudent to bring it up again.

9 years after the U.S. went in and at least temporarily disposed of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Sharia loving, woman beating loons are making a comeback. With superior firepower, technology, and logistical advantage, how could this be? My opinion? That superiority is being wasted.

To have our troops just stand around like sitting ducks while the Taliban picks them off one by one seems to me to be a buffoonish strategy, and that’s putting it nicely. How is it that the United States can train a recruit and have them battle ready and out in the field within 8 weeks? How is it that after 9 years, Afghanistan can’t even put together a legitimate police force, much less a viable army? I asked the same question about Iraq. What is the holdup? They have the best trainers in the world taking them by the hand, but neither country can seem to put together a force that would be in their interest as a nation.

With the best air support in the world, and the best trainers, why can’t Afghanistan have a coherent police force, check points, commando units to root out Taliban strongholds? Nothing like getting strafed by an Apache, and then having superior ground troops coming in right behind it. 9 years later and so far, nothing resembling this?

The question is, if Afghanistan doesn’t have the will to take control of their own destiny, what do we do? The argument that if we leave, Afghanistan once again becomes a training ground for terrorists holds no water with me. If the pundits are so concerned about that, what are they doing about Iran, Syria, North Korea, even the Palestinian territories? Hell, they’ve even busted up cells in the United States! Something is wrong with this picture. No way some rag tag thugs take on our military. Not unless they’re ordered to stand around allow it to happen. There should be an ultimatum: get it together now, or we’re gone. Am I missing something here?