The fact is, the Taliban do not have popular support in Afghanistan, which gives us a solid base to defeat the jihadis there:
The vast majority of Afghans can agree on keeping the Taliban from controlling the government once more. Foreigners tend to keep missing that, but the Taliban are well hated by the majority of tribes, and individual Afghans. The Taliban have already demonstrated, a decade ago, how they would run things. Despite Taliban promises to clean up their act the second time around, few believe it. That's because the Taliban are currently using terror and mass murder to coerce cooperation. The Taliban know how to make a mess, not clean up one.
Of course, if McChrystal is basing his judgment on how long Congress will resist the urge to run away as fast as their stubby little legs can carry them, he has a point--we really do need to win quickly.
He can't say that openly, of course. So I will--Congress under the control of our Left is the biggest threat to our victory in Afghanistan.
The Taliban we can handle. If Congress will let us.
Of course, we can only handle the Taliban in Afghanistan. The major Taliban threat resides in Pakistan as I've long felt, and I still don't know if Pakistan will deal with them. Even stunning success in Afghanistan will make our gains vulnerable to Taliban in Pakistan when we draw down our forces.
