The people of Afghanistan grew up on a playground of war. You might be inclined to view the last sentence as a metaphor, however, considering that children will always try to play no matter what conditions prevail, it can just as easily be taken literally.
Now that that’s been said, let’s ask:
What exactly are the strategic objectives of the war in Afghanistan?
...to eliminate a group of people widely supported among large portions of the population? It can’t be done.
...to dominate a group of people? This is perhaps much easier but only in the short term and only while taking in high casualties.
... to stop a group of people from hating the West?
This can be done and we should be stating this as our one real goal- not endless war.
From a general's point of view, "strategic objectives" may be nothing more than a long and ever-changing list of targets. Some generals, however, take a step back:
After Gulf War I, General Schwarzkopf said that without the backing of the civilian population, no war is winnable in the long term. Think about that. As evil as the Taliban seem to us, large portions of the population continue to see them and indeed themselves as heroes for standing up to "the world’s greatest superpowers". The Taliban will always have a number two jumping for joy for the honor of the position, no matter how many number ones we get rid of. Repeat that a few times to let it sink in. This is not, I repeat not, the situation after WWII in Germany. There, when all was said and done most of the population collectively held their heads in shame and said to themselves "Nie wieder, nie wieder lassen wir zu, dass wir uns von der Notwendigkeit eines Krieges hinters Licht führen lassen". Never again, never again will we allow ourselves to be duped into going to war." In my opinion, this was one of the last wars to be won in the classical sense.
Afghans- most of these people have little to look forward to their entire lives... apart from a goat, a public hanging, a second wife and driving out "cowboys and infidels" (now honestly, which sounds more exciting to you?). They quite literally live in the Stone Age (Update: Perhaps I should have used another comparison: I admittedly know very little about both the Stone Age and everyday Afghan life). Cavemen with (sometimes exploding) cell phones. Think about what our Dark Ages were like. Were we any less brutal to each other then? Did women have more rights then than women do now in Afghanistan (actually, I believe the answer to the last question is "yes", provided they weren't a witch). No sports, no movies, certainly no erotic movies (and Rocky would probably agree here that spanking the monkey before a big fight takes away from your spirit to fight).
It’s time to stop dropping bombs and start dropping comics, Playboys, movies (preferably in VHS format) and clips of the Superbowl. Yes, I’m very serious.
But what if they’re not old enough? What about the CHILDREN? Well, obviously if you think they’re old enough to have a bomb dropped next to their house at 3 o’clock in the morning, they’re old enough to watch a PG-13 or R rated movie no questions asked. My point is that we know so little about them- and they know so little about us. It is a simple and easy to comprehend fact that no one wants to fight someone they know well; and by "know well" I mean to know personally, definitely not in the sense of knowing styles of combat, etc. It’s much easier to demonize and dehumanize someone you no nothing at all about. Let them see that the average American spends his time in an office, working on a farm or in the city and is generally a nice guy or gal. To the women, we'll send them a copy of "9 to 5" with Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlinson. Show them that even in America, women are still fighting for equality.
I have a friend who speaks Swahili and who, half in jest, says that any time you go into an air conditioned area indoors in Africa, there will always be someone with a television on somewhere in the building watching the movie the Gods Must Be Crazy. It’s just that popular a film.
I know it's wishful thinking, but maybe that's something all sides can agree upon- that the gods must be crazy.
Maybe we need to start buying carpets, etc. from them. Quoting one of my favourite movies I’m Gonna Get You Sucka "Unfortunately for our (Black Panther like movement) they were hiring that day... our members went in to the buildings with guns, but they came out with jobs".