The Vietnam War showed the world ‘the futility of Western powers using force in somebody else’s country.’ The US learned some hard lessons from the failure. Today, ‘Vietnam haunts Barack Obama as he decides what to do in Afghanistan’ which he calls the ‘war of necessity.’

The US counter-insurgency strategy, while ‘seeking to exorcise the ghost of Vietnam,’ is ‘to protect the population rather than kill the enemy.’ Many are asking as to the validity of this comprehensive counter-insurgency strategy when Obama ‘sent more troops’ to Afghanistan and ‘appointed General McChrystal, a veteran of the Iraq war, to put it into action.’

Now, McChrystal is asking for additional 40,000 to 60,000 troops lest the military operations in Afghanistan falter and fall. Obama is still in the process of mulling over this request, unable to give a decision just yet. He admits to having a ‘skeptical’ mindset over the general’s request. He realizes along with the others, though, that ‘protecting the population’ needs soldiers on the ground. Many fear that Afghanistan may yet be Obama’s Vietnam.

But Afghanistan can hardly be compared with Vietnam. The Vietcong were strongly supported by North Vietnam and ultimately by China and Russia, all along communist lines. On the other hand, the Taliban may be safely ensconced in Pakistan but no state or country sponsors them.

The trick in winning in Afghanistan is not to regard it along the same military strategies employed in Vietnam. The best thing to do to ‘protect the population’ is to force Karzai to give Afghanistan better governance so as to prove to the population that government is better than the Taliban.

Via Economist.com