Move America toward the exit in Afghanistan

ALL of the frustration and futility of U.S. military and political efforts at the ground level in Afghanistan were pointedly revealed by thousands of leaked documents.

President Obama has an extraordinary opportunity to speed up America's departure from Afghanistan.

The question is less about what the public learned from a six-year span of documents published by WikiLeaks, and more about what Congress already knew of the conditions the documents describe. How well-informed have our lawmakers been, and how skeptical have their questions been about a war that was alternately launched, ignored and reinvigorated with a surge.

Congress has spent at least $300 billion on a war that was kept out of the budget until Obama took office. Lawmakers rarely articulate a reason for being in Afghanistan. One can safely assume the bloodshed and expense would have drawn more attention if a war tax were imposed or a military draft was conscripting young people.

Political hubris and extraordinary war profits have sustained a conflict that is losing support at home and never enjoyed much support in the region, as the leaked documents remind us. U.S. forces cannot rely on the loyalty of the Afghan army, police or a genetically corrupt central government. In the face of foreign occupiers and lethal confrontations, Afghans stay close to the clan, community and religious affiliations they know best.

Pakistan is not a reliable or trustworthy ally. Any allegiance to the red, white and blue will only last until the latest $500 million check clears. The Pakistani intelligence service, long thought to provide safe haven for the Taliban, apparently does so with impunity, according to those published leaks.

The same reports suggest the Taliban have heat-seeking missiles, not unlike the weaponry the U.S. provided the same Taliban insurgents to take down Soviet aircraft. Bush administration officials worried in 2001 about the reappearance of those missiles.

The U.S. is trying to win over a culture it does not understand and wants us out of its homeland.

Fighting global terrorism is a different assignment than trying to remake one country in our Western image. Exiting Afghanistan does not preclude efforts to feed and educate its population, promote democracy or wean its economy off drug profits.

Certainly the most repugnant argument to stay in Afghanistan — or any unpopular conflict — is that leaving demeans the sacrifice of fallen soldiers. The intention is a vulgar, desperate attempt to intimidate and preclude debate.

Respect for the willingness of brave men and women to put themselves in harm's way incurs a deep obligation not to squander their courage in the name of arrogance and greed.

America cannot afford the blood and treasure consumed by the Afghan war. President Obama serves the nation best with a swift, orderly departure.