{"id":2804,"date":"2009-10-01T17:46:13","date_gmt":"2009-10-01T21:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2804"},"modified":"2009-10-01T17:46:13","modified_gmt":"2009-10-01T21:46:13","slug":"michael-yon-dont-kid-yourselves-were-in-serious-trouble-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/01\/michael-yon-dont-kid-yourselves-were-in-serious-trouble-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Yon: Don&#8217;t Kid Yourselves; we&#8217;re in Serious Trouble in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Yon has spent more time in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other journalist. His <a href=\"http:\/\/www.michaelyon-online.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">dispatches<\/a> from the front lines are required reading for anyone who wants to know what&#8217;s happening at the pointy end of the war on terror so when\u00a0 he say <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtontimes.com\/news\/2009\/oct\/01\/yon-the-greatest-afghan-war\/\" target=\"_blank\">we&#8217;re in serious trouble<\/a> you should pay attention:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Greatest Afghanistan War has deteriorated so noticeably that one can now feel the enemy&#8217;s growing pulse. Each month it beats steadier, stronger, and in 2010 it will finally be born.<\/p>\n<p>On Sept. 11 in Kandahar, a South African civilian working without security was visibly upset &#8211; not at the Taliban but at the police. The 16-year police veteran recounted seeing Afghan police speeding through crowded streets and hitting a bicycle. The rider gymnastically avoided impact while the bicycle was tossed down the road.<\/p>\n<p>The South African, with whom I spent a week in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, said the police never slowed down. &#8220;That&#8217;s part of the reason the Taliban are gaining ground,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The police are out there recruiting Taliban.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I have searched for answers in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Along with the more strategic questions (for example, should war be pursued?) are those closer to the shop floor: Are we gaining or losing popular support? Is the enemy gaining or losing strength? Is the coalition gaining or losing strength?<\/p>\n<p>The first answer is a common denominator for the rest.<\/p>\n<p>We are losing popular support. Confidence in the Afghan and coalition governments is plummeting. Loss of human terrain is evident. Conditions are building for an avalanche. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the military commander in Afghanistan, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates are aware of the rumbling, and so today we are bound by rules of engagement that appear insensible.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If you haven&#8217;t already done so, read the whole thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB125435650569454583.html\" target=\"_blank\">Gates Doubts U.S.&#8217;s Afghan Strategy<\/a> &#8211; Wall Street Journal<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/tol\/news\/world\/Afghanistan\/article6857563.ece\" target=\"_blank\">David Miliband pushes US Administration to back Afghanistan plan<\/a> &#8211; Times Online<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/asiaCrisis\/idUSN01239094\" target=\"_blank\">Catch-22 and the long war in Afghanistan<\/a> &#8211; Reuters<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnsnews.com\/news\/article\/54807\" target=\"_blank\">43 U.S. Troops Have Died in Afghanistan Since Gen. McChrystal Called for Reinforcements<\/a> &#8211; CNSNews.com<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Yon has spent more time in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other journalist. His dispatches from the front lines are required reading for anyone who wants to know what&#8217;s happening at the pointy end of the war on terror so when\u00a0 he say we&#8217;re in serious trouble you should pay attention: The Greatest Afghanistan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[194,73,193],"tags":[1374,871],"class_list":{"0":"post-2804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-afghanistan","7":"category-international-affairs","8":"category-war-on-terror","9":"tag-afghanistan","10":"tag-michael-yon","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-Je","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3042,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/02\/a-few-thoughts-on-obama%e2%80%99s-afghanistan-speech\/","url_meta":{"origin":2804,"position":0},"title":"A Few Thoughts on Obama\u2019s Afghanistan Speech","author":"Jeff","date":"December 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"First off let me preface this by saying I didn't watch President Obama's speech last night, instead I read the transcript this morning. The first thing about his speech that struck me is no where in it did he mention victory... A fact noted by LA Times blogger Andrew Malcolm:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Afghanistan&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3006,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/11\/19\/fred-thompson-the-war-in-afghanistan-has-been-lost\/","url_meta":{"origin":2804,"position":1},"title":"Fred Thompson: The War in Afghanistan Has Been Lost","author":"Jeff","date":"November 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh boy, I wish Fred hadn't gone here but the said truth is someone had to say it out loud... From the Politico: Former Sen. Fred Thompson today intensified his party's criticism of President Obama's long deliberation over policy in Afghanistan, announcing that Obama's delay signals that \"the war has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Afghanistan&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":987,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/13\/the-perils-of-talking\/","url_meta":{"origin":2804,"position":2},"title":"The Perils of Talking","author":"Jeff","date":"November 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Ralph Peters has an interesting column on Afghanistan in today's New York Post. Peters directly addresses the difficulties of negotiating with the Taliban. THE TALKING TRAP: AFGHAN FOLLIES By Ralph Peters, New York Post, November 13, 2008 NEGOTIATIONS are the heroin of the chattering classes, blinding them to every reality\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Afghanistan&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4751,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/10\/video-lara-logans-keynote-speech-at-the-2012-bga-annual-luncheon\/","url_meta":{"origin":2804,"position":3},"title":"Video: Lara Logan&#8217;s Keynote Speech at the 2012 BGA Annual Luncheon","author":"Jeff","date":"October 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Lara Logan of CBS News delivered a chilling warning to American policy makers and the American people during her keynote address to the Better Government Associations annual luncheon on Tuesday, October 2, 2012: Lara Logan, a correspondent for CBS\u2019 \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d delivered a provocative speech to about 1,100 influentials from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Afghanistan&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/UXEsXAqO-DQ\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":122,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/16\/could-iraq-be-the-democrats-waterloo\/","url_meta":{"origin":2804,"position":4},"title":"Could Iraq Be The Democrats Waterloo?","author":"Jeff","date":"July 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Democrats have spent virtually every waking minute of the last 5 years predicting disaster in Iraq. They've so thoroughly invested themselves in defeat one has to wonder what they're going to do now that the situation there has improved so dramatically that even the mainstream media has taken notice? For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Iraq&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Iraq","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/iraq\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3407,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/23\/mcchrystal-relieved-petraeus-to-replace\/","url_meta":{"origin":2804,"position":5},"title":"McChrystal Relieved; Petraeus to Replace","author":"Jeff","date":"June 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"President Barack Obama has accepted the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of the International Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan, he will be replaced by General David Petraeus: President Barack Obama accepted the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander and strategist of the Afghan war,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Afghanistan&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}