Petraeus To Push For More Time In Afghanistan

The helicopter hums along through the night. The rear ramp is open, affording me a green tinged view of the land through my night vision goggles. We make our approach, and the signal is given to prepare for landing. It is one minute until we begin the raid. As the helicopter touches down, we rush out. Some Marines form a cordon around the house while my team and I rush to the door. We break the window and throw in a stun grenade. An extremely loud boom sounds as a blinding flash rips through the interior of the house. We bust the door open and rush inside. I scan the room, flowing across the wall, looking for threats. Every blind corner and unopened door is a potential for death. We move swiftly, letting the training take over as we clear the house. Through an open door I encounter several Iraqi's with their hands up, ready to surrender. We restrain them while the rest of the house is secured. The raid is complete. No shots have been fired, and we have our targets in custody.

Recently, Gen. Petraeus released the results of special operations missions in Afghanistan. The missions have led to 235 militant leaders killed or captured, 1,066 rank-and-file insurgents killed, and 1,673 detained in the last 90 days. Petraeus has released these statistics, and others, to highlight the progress being made in Afghanistan. He also seeks to gather support for the war amongst the American public. Yet, Vietnam has shown that body counts do not always sway public opinion.

General Petraeus also remarked, "You don't kill or capture your way out of an industrial strength insurgency." The reality of Petraeus' statement can be clearly seen by the casualties of the past three months, which have been the bloodiest since the inception of the Afghan war. He has acknowledged that it will get worse before it gets better. The goal is to bring stability to the government, through the training of the Afghan army, and convince the Afghan people that they are better off supporting the U.S than the Taliban.

The U.S military faces huge hurdles in the Afghan campaign. The Afghan government is rife with corruption, and attempts to boost the country's economic situation have fallen flat, with this past week's run on Kabul Bank the most recent setback. Afghan army members are not ready to take charge of their security. Most are illiterate, and they lack fundamental military skills, such as the ability to read a map. In terms of military standards, they are at the initial training level. The problems are compounded by the deadline for troop withdrawals set by President Obama. Also, the Afghan people realize that once U.S forces leave Afghanistan, the Taliban will simply swoop back down and regain control. The U.S military is running against the clock.

The present situation's odds are stacked against Petraeus. In order to achieve victory, he needs the time to train Afghan troops, yet presently he is not afforded this luxury. Realizing this, he has begun a media campaign, making comments on the possibility of U.S troops having to stay longer than the July 2011 drawdown date. General James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, has echoed these sentiments, remarking that it will likely be a few years before Marines in Afghanistan's Helmand Province can transfer control of security operations there to Afghan forces.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made similar comments as well, saying, "My gut tells me that we will probably have a troop presence in Afghanistan for some period of time. I don't know what that period of time is. I would say certainly more than two years. But I don't know what that length of time would be. It will depend on the success of our operations; it will depend on the pressures the Taliban feel themselves under when they discover in August of 2011 we're not gone."

The math does not add up on Afghanistan. If President Obama is firmly committed to the July 2011 drawdown deadline, then Petraeus' strategy will fail because of a lack of time. The general knows this and it is the reason why he has begun to push for a longer commitment. The choice ultimately rests with the president. He can support Petraeus' strategy by drawing out the conflict in Afghanistan. This would lead to increased U.S deaths, a commitment of more funding, and an angering of Obama's political base. Or the President can continue with his plans for a drawdown, pointing to the fact that even the great General Petraeus could not get the job done.

A tough decision seems to waiting for the president. He can either go against the advice of the top U.S general and remove troops from Afghanistan, or ignore military advice and bring the troops home. The reality is our military and our coffers are stretched thin. Troops are seeing their third, fourth and even fifth combat tours. The emotional toll of war is wearing on them and their families, and the scourge of PTSD grows stronger every day. Military equipment is wearing out, with replacements needed if the war is go on.

We also need to re-equip our military for any future conflicts. Yet money is running out, there is no real economic growth in sight, and a protracted conflict is sure to stretch the U.S coffers even thinner. The public is becoming weary of war and is more concerned about domestic affairs, particularly ballooning debt and deflationary risks.  

A decision on Afghanistan is coming soon. The choice will have a major impact on the fate of this nation. The irony of the situation is that it has taken nine years for the U.S to focus on Afghanistan and appoint a commander with a focused strategy that could possibly end the conflict. Yet now that we have one, it may be too late.

Mike Bonopartis is a former Recon Marine who served with Okinawa-based 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and San Diego-based 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, the same unit featured in HBO's miniseries Generation Kill. From 2006 to 2007, Mike served in Iraq as a Recon team member. His unit operated in the Fallujah area, conducting raids, reconnaissance, and security operations. Mike grew up in Harrison and is now studying medicine.