In Afghanistan, the Tragic Toll of Washington Delusion – WSJ

Negotiators from Washington pursued diplomatic engagement with a brutal and determined enemy without complementary military action and after announcing our intention to withdraw. The late George Shultz s observation holds true: Negotiations are a euphemism for capitulation if the shadow of power is not cast across the bargaining table. Zalmay Khalilzad s pleas to the Taliban to forgo attacking the U.S. Embassy were a humiliating consequence. From Washington one hears that the international community must express its disappointment at the Taliban for failing to attenuate the catastrophe. The idea that the Taliban is concerned about its reputation in New York or Geneva would be laughable if the circumstances weren t so grim.

Pundits in Washington repeat the mantra that there was no military solution in Afghanistan. The Taliban seem to have come up with one.

Self-styled strategists in Washington still rationalize the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as necessary to focus on China and great-power competition. But the refusal to provide the Afghan people the support necessary to stem a humanitarian catastrophe emboldens China, Russia and other adversaries eager to proclaim the U.S. an unreliable partner and a declining power.

Calls from Washington urged Afghans to fight harder. But that insults the memory of tens of thousands of Afghans who made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against our common enemies and underestimates the psychological blow from America s sudden abandonment.

The gap between fantasy in Washington and reality in Afghanistan explains how we have arrived at this point. The end of self-delusion is necessary if there is any hope of mitigating a growing disaster that won t stay confined to the Middle East and South Asia.

via www.wsj.com

H.R. McMaster and Bradley Bowman