Let Afghanistan determine its own future

The killing of Osama bin Laden has correctly raised the question of the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

If the original motivation for military intervention back in 2001 and reinforced by President Obama’s “surge” of additional troops was to insure that bin Laden and Al Qaida did not attempt to use again that country for its terrorist operations, then one can logically conclude that this mission has been significantly achieved by the killing of bin Laden.

In my opinion, the shift from this focus of a police action against Al Qaida in Afghanistan has mired the U.S. down in a fruitless effort at nation-building that is impossible to achieve in a country that has little foundation as a cohesive nation.

It is not worth the expense of American lives and devastating injuries plus the bottom line of $2 billion per week. We should declare victory over Al Qaida in Afghanistan and shift to more focused special operations to prevent any resurgence of terrorist cells.

In the end, only the people of Afghanistan can determine their own future.