Is The U.S. Entering An Age Of Small And 'Dirty' Wars?

U.S. Marines Corps Cpl. David Calle, left, Cpl. Kevin Midgley, center, and 1st Lt. Patrick Ford, right, observe surrounding compounds during a security patrol in Nad Ali district in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 11, 2014. Patrols are conducted to disrupt enemy operations against the Bastion-Leatherneck Complex. Ford is the platoon commander, Midgley is a machine gunner and Calle is a vehicle commander assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. John A. Martinez Jr.

US Entering New Era Of Dirty Wars? -- Russell Crandall, American Interest

Americans don’t always like to acknowledge it, but the U.S. has a long history of fighting so-called dirty wars. Perhaps rather than insisting we should never get involved in these conflicts, we should learn how to do so as cleanly and efficiently as possible.

Back in May in a brief Rose Garden address, President Obama announced his plan for ending the war in Afghanistan. The effort involves cutting the present troop level of 32,000 down to a residual force of just under 10,000 American soldiers by the end of this year. That reduced number would be halved at the end of 2015 to around 5,000 troops, and trimmed 12 months later to a tiny, almost diplomatic military mission thereafter. As he told the American people, “We’re finishing the job we started” after the 9/11 attacks in what has turned out to be the longest war in American history.

Critics contended that new plan was inflexible and therefore unable to adapt to unforeseeable circumstances, and that it would also embolden the Taliban to hold out for what would be an irreversible American departure. In comments during a trip to Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel defended the President’s position, “The American people want our job finished here, but they want it finished the right way. And I think we’re on a path to do that over the next two years.”

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My Comment: A sober analysis on America's history of fighting small and messy wars.