For the US Military, a New Tar-Baby is Born

I believe we better prepare ourselves for a very long commitment in Afghanistan, and a long period of tension between the US and Pakistan. The Taliban are back indeed, and are evidently deeply rooted in Pakistan's frontier provinces, into which the US dare not go without danger of setting off a full-fledged civil war in Pakistan. From the get-go, I was afraid that Iraq would prove to be a tar-baby for the US. Well, it did, and Bush's ADD when it came to stabilizing Afghanistan after the "victories" of 2002 has now spawned a new tar-baby with feet planted firmly in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Add to that the fact that the "collateral damage" that US attacks have caused in both countries over the past 6 years has spawned deep and widespread hatred of the US military, and tremendous resistance to ongoing US interference with both countries' elected governments. And bear in mind as well that the Taliban have long been nurtured by the ISI, Pakistan's intelligence agency, which means that it has connections and support at high levels within Pakistan's government.

This is a no-win situation. In fact, maybe even a sure-lose.