How long does it take for the US military to admit defeat? The answer is forever, according to Harlan Ullman. Today there are US soldiers deployed in Afghanistan who were one year-olds when the war began. Yet the Taliban is no closer to being banished than it was in 2001. Indeed, it occupies considerably more of the country today than it did two years ago. In the meantime, the US presence has fluctuated from a few thousand troops to more than 100,000 and back again. Each president thinks he has found the key to winning the conflict. Every time, the key breaks. Yet the Pentagon refrain continues: “Give me the tools and I will finish the job.
美國軍方要承認失敗需要多長時間？哈倫•烏爾曼(Harlan Ullman)說，答案是永不。當今部署到阿富汗的美軍士兵裏，有人在阿富汗戰爭開始時還只是1歲的孩子。然而，比起2001年時，美國並沒有更接近自身的目標——搗毀塔利班(Taliban)。事實上，如今塔利班的地盤顯著大於2年前。與此同時，駐阿富汗美軍的兵力上上下下，從幾千人增加到逾10萬人，後來又回落。每一任總統都認爲他找到了贏得這場衝突的鑰匙。每一次，鑰匙都崩斷了。然而五角大廈依然繼續高唱：「給我工具，我就能完成任務。」