McNeil-Lehrer - Afghanistan the Modern Vietnam?

Post Reply
solutions
Site Admin
Posts: 212
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:38 pm

McNeil-Lehrer - Afghanistan the Modern Vietnam?

Post by solutions »

.
McNeil-Lehrer - Afghanistan the Modern Vietnam?
www.pbs.org/newshour - 31 July 2009 transcript of second topic with Mark Shields and David Brooks

JIM LEHRER: And finally tonight, the analysis of Shields and Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, New York Times columnist David Brooks.
(first topic omitted)

JIM LEHRER: All right, on Afghanistan… The apparent need for more troops and the point that was in -- that Margaret and Rajiv were talking about, that there's not a lot of sympathy for that or a lot of support for that at the White House or also at the Pentagon for that.

MARK SHIELDS: There isn't, Jim. I mean, already 21,000 troops have been committed. George Wilson, one of the great defense reporters, covered Vietnam in the field and has covered this for so long...

JIM LEHRER: For the Washington Post.

MARK SHIELDS: ... for the "Washington Post" and for the long time -- George wrote a piece recently comparing the situation that President Obama faced in Afghanistan to that that Richard Nixon faced when he became president in 1969 in Vietnam. He didn't write it lyrically or positively, but he simply said the reality was, do you send more troops, more and more and more troops, or do you basically turn it over to the locals with having beefed them up and sort of leave with vague promises? We've been there for eight years. The difference, obviously, between Vietnam and Afghanistan are profound, historic, geographical. The biggest difference domestically here at home is that there is no draft. In 1969, Richard Nixon faced the sons of the establishment dying in Vietnam. That is no longer the case. With rare and conspicuous and admirable exceptions, the establishment is out of this war. But I still do think the American people have no will and no appetite for an indefinite commitment of a war.

JIM LEHRER: And sending more troops. How do you feel about it?

DAVID BROOKS: Well, we were there for eight years, but we were not really committing serious resources until recently. Barack Obama decided, with the support of the military, with everybody, when I was over there, to double down, to expand and to create what is basically a nation-building enterprise. They knew absolutely at that time what is happening today would happen, that as we went into these new areas, casualties would rise. They were totally prepared for a summer that would be extremely unpleasant, and yet they still at that time thought it was worth doing now because they could get through it. It would take some time. It seems to me extremely premature to be talking about getting out when what we knew would happen is happening. Now, there is a tension between what Barack Obama approved as a policy and what he sold as a policy. He approved a policy of pretty serious nation-building, with people going and helping with the agriculture, helping with the law. He sold a policy to the American people of sort of a light commitment. And I hope he adjusts the policy he's selling to the policy that's really on the ground, which may require more troops.

JIM LEHRER: What about Mark's point? Mark doesn't believe the American people are going to go for many more troops in Afghanistan just because of memories of past things.

DAVID BROOKS: My reading of the American public right now is they're barely paying attention, and they've been barely paying attention. They're paying attention to health care and all these other things. And I have seen no evidence of any tremendous desire on the part of the American people to get out of Afghanistan. And on the military, my experience is, people are reasonably committed to this project. It's not like people in the military -- even if you compare it to Iraq, the disillusion there was in Iraq in the bloody days, the atmosphere in Afghanistan is completely different. People have much more hope about the Afghan -- they, frankly, like the Afghan situation a lot better. They like the Afghan people, their Afghan partners a lot better. So I haven't seen any sense of great disillusion or rush for the exits among the people who are actually executing the policy.

MARK SHIELDS: Two quick points. One, don't expect more troops, resources from our European partners. We're in it there, in Afghanistan, not unlike Vietnam, when there was no help forthcoming. And unlike Iraq, I mean, where there was a nation, the building of a nation in Afghanistan, it would be an historically exceptional achievement. I mean, we're starting from a country that has no tradition...

JIM LEHRER: No strong central government?

MARK SHIELDS: ... and no institutions. No.

JIM LEHRER: It's always been diverse, to put it mildly, and dispersed, in terms of its government. All right, on to other things. David, today's news on the economy, do you -- do you read it the same way? You heard what the expert said. You're an expert, aren't you?

Post Reply

Return to “Participant Comments - "Three Cups of Tea" - Aug. 12th”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests