Juan Cole posted that, “Memorial Day, in my view, should be a time of reflection not only on the sacrifices made for the nation in war but on whether our wars are necessary and whether they are being fought in the right way.” And he criticized the war in Afghanistan (as well as the war in Iraq, while maintaining his endorsement of the war in Libya),[1] writing,
The protests in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, against yet another alleged killing of 14 women and children in an airstrike that went awry, reminds us that the big counter-insurgency effort in that country still has not produced social peace, still has not yielded a government capable of taking over security duties. NATO has had to issue an apology. If Afghan police and soldiers could project authority and force in local areas, air strikes would be unnecessary. And after nearly 10 years since the overthrow of the Taliban, it is legitimate to ask when and how exactly local troops can be expected to take up this slack?[2]
- [1]Juan Cole, “Time to Begin Leaving Afghanistan,” Informed Comment, May 30, 2011, http://www.juancole.com/2011/05/time-to-begin-leaving-afghanistan.html↩
- [2]Cole, “Time to Begin Leaving Afghanistan.”↩