U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan

Warning: This is my political opinion.

Yesterday, two more American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, not by Taliban, but by anti-American Afghan soldiers—the total is now six. This is the latest attack on U.S. forces after it was reported that American soldiers had burned copies of the Koran at a military base in Afghanistan. For Afghans who have always been suspicious of foreigners, and who have barely tolerated the Western invasion of their country, it was the last straw. And the ten-year U.S.-led strategy to earn Afghans’ trust has been severely jeopardized. One Afghan official was quoted as saying the Americans’ act is unforgivable.

Conversely, due to the attacks, not by the Taliban, but by US-trained Afghan troops, the trust of the U.S. soldiers has been severely affected as well. How can they work alongside men who may turn on them at any moment? If the Afghans can't trust the Americans, and Americans can’t trust the Afghans, the strategy won’t work. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)

As you know, I lived in Afghanistan for two years, and have written several times about the naiveté of U.S. foreign policy that tries to change a nation’s politics without addressing the need for cultural change—something that will never happen in Afghanistan. Don’t be surprised if the anti-American sentiment, and the spirit of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7), in Afghanistan increases in the weeks ahead.