I don't love writing long, link-ful diaries, so I was going to use mine to, at least bi-weekly, survey the right-wing blogosphere/non-journalism for the most outrageous things out there. For laughs, for concern, for anger, etc. However, I felt a little incident yesterday was worth writing about.
I have my own feelings on Afghanistan...what we should (or shouldn't) have done in immediate reaction to 9/11, how the conflict has been conducted over two presidencies, etc. I'm going to leave that out of this diary, maybe for another time.
However, something I encountered while working yesterday really sunk a cold reality into me: we're going to be in Afghanistan. Now. Later. For a very, very long time. And "they" aren't planning on "winning" any time soon.
Now, whether you think it's a legitimate point or not (I tend to think not, but will again try not to get into that debate here), I see our presence in Afghanistan and Iraq as quite different than a base on Okinawa, on the DMZ between the Koreas, or an airbase/hospital in Germany, and I see our presence being (and meaning) quite different things from those for at least the long-near future. I thought so before yesterday.
Then, yesterday..
I'm doing a property inspection for a real estate management firm that owns a very large manufacturing facility for one of the multi-national defense contractors (I won't say which, except to let you know that they were a bidder for the new space shuttle). It's not just a building survey..I have to understand what's going on in the building so that I can report back to the real estate firm enough that they can evaluate whether the tenant has reported all of their operations, there are adequate safety procedures and equipment in place (enough fire extinguishers, etc), that sort of thing.
In one area, I'm shown what looks to be the body/chassis of a smallish, jeep-ish looking vehicle. After asking what it was, the plant manager proudly explained that this was a new light jeep that could carry four marines with a 50cal machine gun turret in the back. The vehicle, he explained, was for Afghanistan: it was designed to be able to be air-dropped into a remote, rugged location for an attack or reconnaisance, and then picked back up after the mission was complete. My first reaction was admiration: the vehicle seemed extremely practical for the job it needed to do; it wasn't a cruising vehicle, but was very light, could fit what it need to carry/hold, and was ruggedly-constructed to handle the remote Afghan terrain.
"This is great!" I said. "How many have you made?"
"We're making about 5 a week."
"Wow, that's a clip for not having an assembly line!" I noted. "How many are out there now?"
"Oh, these haven't been deployed yet."
.........
...
"Oh."
"Yeah," he says. "It's been in development for about 6 years."
Silence.
"Welp," I say using my best impression of Lloyd in Dumb & Dumber during the Big Gulp scene, "let's see the next area!"
I forgot about my shock pretty instantly, but then it hit me again as I was driving away once the survey was completed. Six years in development, 5/day being completed and shipped out, and they haven't been deployed yet?
It's pretty clear: since Bush II and well into the Obama Administration, the expected endgame has not been "total victory" like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity still cling to, even after Iraq was clearly never going to be like post-WWII Germany or Japan. After we go through some more hell in Helmland and other untamed areas of Afghanistan where insurgents and the Taliban have free roam, it's pretty clear that our troops will stick to supporting the major "metro" areas of Afghanistan, and launching small-scale, in-and-out attacks in areas of concern.
You don't spend 6 years developing a vehicle, begin producing 5/day, when you don't expect you'll be using them for a long time...some ill-conceived super-fighter these vehicle ain't.
Just thought I'd share.