Ends and Means
This letter from Staff Sergeant Matthew Sitton illustrates the lack of thought about the purpose of the war in Afghanistan and the connection between that purpose and the actual prosecution of the war on the part of our politicians and senior military leadership. The situation described by Sergeant Sitton is one in which soldiers are told to carry out missions with no connection to any meaningful understanding of victory.
A major part of the problem is that victory has not been defined with any kind of clarity by either President Bush or President Obama. At best, we have been told that the sacrifices of blood and treasure in the last eleven years have been aimed at preventing terrorists from using Afghanistan as a sanctuary. At worst, we are told that we are trying to build democracy in Afghanistan.
I say that the best case argument is keeping Afghanistan free of terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda because that objective has some tie to the security of American rights. Unfortunately, our leadership has never been clear on what a terrorist is. It is not possible to defeat common nouns with military force. The Muslim Brotherhood, for instance, has been magically transformed from a terrorist organization to a moderate democratic group through the power of wishful thinking alone.
The distinction between the Taliban and non-Taliban elements in Afghanistan has also not been drawn with any clarity. I have yet to see an explanation of how the Taliban may be distinguished from ordinary Pashtun tribal groupings.
I say that the worst case scenario is nation-building because experience has demonstrated that there is nothing we can do to transform Afghanistan into a modern liberal democracy where equality and human rights are respected. We have, after all, been trying since 1946 with no visible signs of success.
We don't have a clear definition of the end or victory; it is no surprise that we also lack a clear conception of the proper means. Lacking a clear plan, our leadership instead employs tactics with no rational purpose. Sergeant Sitton and his fellow soldiers were told to go on two patrols a day. No one in his chain of command could tell him how walking through the same minefields again and again brought victory closer. It was simply what the brigade commander decreed.
When a flood soaked the forward operating base of Sergeant Sitton's platoon, including the latrine, he and his comrades were left to soak in their own waste. No matter--two patrols a day, bathed in your own filth, for no apparent reason, was still the order of the day.
Sergeant Sitton will no longer be conducting meaningless walks through fields full of explosives. He was killed on August 2nd, 2012, in a walk through a minefield that was mandated by someone issuing edicts from echelons above reality. He was on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan.
I can't see that either presidential candidate has given any serious thought about what is to be done in Afghanistan. Our soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen deserve better; they deserve a political leadership that will not send them into harm's way without making a rational connection between ends and means. They also deserve a senior military leadership that does not agonize about how to best conduct sensitivity training while allowing our soldiers to soak in their own waste in between dangerous and purposeless walks through fields filled with explosives.
- Comment (9)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (4)
Comments:
Jul '10
Re: Ends and Means
Well said.
We have no idea who our enemy is. Terrorism is a tactic - it cannot be an enemy. Yet every politico I hear takes great pains to avoid the obvious.
And my sincere condolences to the Sitton family on the unfortunate death of an obviously fine American warrior.
Edited on September 21, 2012 at 9:52pmDec '10
Re: Ends and Means
That about sums it up.
Now consider the hundreds of thousands of Moms and Dads that understand this, as well. There is a fury that is directed not at a goofy pastor in Gainesville, but towards the entire civillian and military chains of command.
Sep '10
Re: Ends and Means
"It is not possible to defeat common nouns with military force."
I keep thinking I must have missed a speach or something because I don't know what our goals are in Afghanistan. I think both candidates need to tell us what is the "rational connection between ends and means" and why do we still need troops in Afghanistan.
May '11
Re: Ends and Means
Iraq isn't the Viet Nam type quagmire. It is Afghanistan.
Re: Ends and Means
From SSG Hitton's letter: "I'm concerned about the well being of my soldiers and have tried to voice my opinion through the proper channels of my own chain of command only to be turned away and told that I need to stop complaining. It is my responsibility to take care of my soldiers and there is only so much I can do with that little bit of Rank I have. My guys would fight by my side and have my back in any condition and I owe it to them to have their best interest in mind."
Loyalty from the top of the chain of command down to the bottom is just as important as loyalty from the bottom up. Unless and until we have flag officers who are willing to put their precious careers on the line for the troops in harm's way, catastrophes like this will continue.
As for overall strategy, the idea of energy independence, closing embassies, and informing the locals that if we have to come back it will be to destroy rather than rebuild, is becoming very appealing.
Dec '11
Re: Ends and Means
Dave Carter:
As for overall strategy, the idea of energy independence, closing embassies, and informing the locals that if we have to come back it will be to destroy rather than rebuild, is becoming very appealing. ยท 16 minutes ago
Second.
May '12
Re: Ends and Means
I think a sober truth about "nation building" is that, to be successful in a short run like we are talking about here, it would have to look a lot like colonization: a massive influx of skilled civilians to provide the goods and services required of a modern nation. Which would be along the lines of, say, China's work in Tibet.
Apr '11
Re: Ends and Means
My son is a firstie at West Point; he will graduate this May. SSG Hitton's letter makes me tremble. It sometimes seems that only the families of those in the military care any more. The only thing more despicable than Obama's cynical claims in 2008 that Afghanistan was the "good war" that he would fight successfully is the media's complete and total lack of interest in our military's efforts and sacrifices once Obama was in office. And not to be omitted from the list of the utterly contemptible are the numerous Americans who are so uninformed and ungrateful that they are not even aware that we are at war (I actually had someone say to me that I ought to be supporting Obama because "he ended the war in Afghanistan"). Far too many Americans are not worthy of the SSGT Sittons of this country.
Dave Carter: I agree with you completely.
Feb '12
Re: Ends and Means
American leadership starting with this President does not deserve these amazing, brave, heroic military troops. At times I don't think America does either. The neglect of wars by our political and media elites has been disgraceful. Bringing all our troops home is long overdue.