I get asked a lot what success looks like in Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s really not a difficult question, though many of our politicians and pundits like to make it difficult. It’s simple: success is defined as being able to leave behind an autonomous, fully functioning government able to defend its borders and provide for its own internal security. Now, that’s not an official definition, but based on my experiences and following our foreign policies from a military perspective that is how I define it.
If the goal is to just kill all the jihadists that want us or the new fledgling governments dead, then we’ll never leave. So, we need to leave behind a train, competent, and supported government composed of a strong military, a swift law enforcement system, and a reliable, trustworthy government. This is one of the main goal of our operations in Afghanistan, just as it was at the end of the Iraq war and what made withdrawal possible. This image by Tech. Sgt. Adrienne Brammer shows what the future of Afghanistan’s success and security looks like. It’s an uphill battle to change the mindset of generations used to corrupt governments and aggressive police forces.
Graduates of the Afghan Uniformed Police’s Basic Patrolman course listen to a speech from a local mullah in Training Sustainment Site Costall, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. He encouraged the students to take responsibility for putting Afghanistan back on its feet. 199 students completed the course.
