Show Washington's failed war in Elan J Journo Ayn Rand Institute Americas America's campaign in Afghanistan was once widely hailed as a success in the war on terr terror tenor r. r We have nothing more to fear from Afghanistan our policy makers told us because the war had accomplished its two main goals al and its sponsoring regime the were supposedly long gone and a new Western pro-Western government had been set up But Butas as the daily news from Afghanistan shows in reality the war has been a drastic failure Legions of undefeated and al soldiers have renewed their jihad Flush with money amassing recruits and armed with guns rockets and explosives they are fighting to regain power In recent months they have mounted a string of deadly suicide bombings and rocket attacks against American and NATO forces more US U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan in inthe inthe inthe the last 20 months than did during the peak war forces have J effectively bes besieged eged several provinces in southern Afghanistan Local officials estimate that in some provinces the number of Tali ban is several times more than that of the police and Afghan National Army fighters are said to amble through villages fearlessly brandishing their and collecting an Islamic tithe from peasants With astounding boldness they have assassinated clerics and judges deemed too friendly to the new government and fired rockets at a school for using un Islamic books The and al forces are so strong and popular that Senator Bill Frist recently declared that a war against them cannot be won and instead suggested negotiating with the How is it that five years after the war began began and and andin in the face of Americas America's unsurpassed military strength strength and andal andal andal al fighters are threatening to regain power Victory in Afghanistan demanded two things We had to destroy the and we had to ensure that thata a threatening non-threatening non- non warrior Islamic regime take its place But we did not think we had a amoral amoral amoral moral right to do what was necessary to achieve either goal Our military was ordered d to pursue fighters only if it simultaneously showed compassion to the Afghans The US U.S. military dropped bombs on Afghanistan but instead of ruthlessly pounding key targets it was ordered to gingerly avoid hitting holy shrines i and mosques known to tobe tobe tobe be hideouts and to shower the country with food packages The United States deployed ground forces forces but but instead of focusing exclusively on capturing or killing the enemy they were also diverted to a host of reconstruction projects The result is that the enemy was not destroyed and crushed in spirit but merely scattered and left with the moral fortitude to regroup and launch a brazen comeback Even wit with its hands tied however the US U.S. military succeeded in toppling the regime but Washington subverted that achievement too A new Afghan government would be a threat non-threat to Americas America's interests if it were based on ona a secular constitution that respects individual rights The Bush Administration however declared that we had no right to impose our beliefs on the Afghans Afghans- and instead endorsed their desire for another regime founded on Islamic law Already this avowedly Islamic regime has jailed an Afghan magazine editor for blasphemy earlier this year Abdul Rahman an Afghan convert to Christianity faced a death sentence sentence for for apostasy The new Afghan regime cannot be counted on to oppose the resurgence of Islamic totalitarianism Ideologically it has nothing to say in opposition to the doctrines of the two members of the leadership are in inthe inthe inthe the new government It is only a matter of time before Afghanistan is once again a haven for anti-American anti warriors The failure in Afghanistan is a result of Washington's foreign policy Despite ser lip service lip ice to the goal of protecting Americas America's safety the war on terror tenor has been waged in compliance with the prevailing moral premise that self-interest self is evil and self-sacrifice self a virtue Instead of trouncing the enemy for the sake of protecting American lives J our leaders have sacrificed our self-defense self for the sake of serving the whims of Afghans The hearted half-hearted war warin warin warin in Afghanistan failed to smash the and andal andal andal al It failed to render their ideology ideology- Islamic totalitarianism- totalitarianism a lost cause Instead at best it demonstrated Washington's reluctance to fight ruthlessly to defend Americans How better to stoke the enthusiasm of l America cannot win this or any war by embracing selflessness as a virtue Ultimately it cannot survive unless Washington abandons its self-sacrificial self foreign policy in favor of one that proudly places Americas America's interests as its exclusive moral concern |