The Beginning of the End

Recently, one of the opposition leaders in Romania said that, along with the allies, they should reevaluate the presence of the Romanian military contingent in Afghanistan. This is by no means a destructive idea, because the Americans seem to be making their own evaluations, such as the one performed for two weeks in the Afghan theater of operations by retired general, Jack Keane. He repeatedly visited Kandahar, the original fiefdom of the Taliban in the province of Helmand, as well as other territories south and east of Afghanistan.

Upon his return, Gen. Keane told The Washington Times “there are already some early signs of a beginning of a momentum shift in our favor.” At the same time, he had previously given some information to Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, regarding the results of increasing the American contingent by 30,000 soldiers next summer.

Gen. Keane was Petraeus’ adviser when he commanded U.S. troops in Iraq, where the Bush administration conducted a similar operation in 2007. What Keane noticed was Taliban fighters negotiating their acceptance by the government of Kabul. They now protect several villages that were cleared of insurgents. Desperate calls made to radio stations by Taliban members were intercepted, indicating nervousness and a vulnerable state of mind.

“Overall, we can see now that the surge forces are starting to make a difference,” said Gen. Keane. Many commanders on the field then reported having spoken to Taliban members who were eager to end the war and reintegrate into society.

The Taliban’s decreased morale seems to be caused by the success the American Marine infantry had in limiting their freedom of movement by banning access to southern areas used as refuges, as well as arms dumps.

What Gen. Keane did was apply the old Latin saying “Veni, vidi …” However, it is a long way to “vici,” since only last week, on the ninth anniversary of the war, the Taliban proudly announced control of over 75 percent of Afghan territory. In the end, it seems that Stanley McChrystal was right. If Obama’s war strategy remains the same and July 2011 marks the withdrawal of U.S. troops, it will be just one day until the Taliban comes from Pakistan and takes over Kabul.

Who cares about “vici”!