Obama's faltering war

摘要

America's commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, is candid about the complexity of the war against the Taliban: "Every day I realise how little about Afghanistan I actually understand." The country's mountains and deserts are forbidding; its tribal make-up bewildering; and, after three decades of war, its communities broken, poor and ignorant. Well-meant actions often have unintended effects: fighting can create more insurgents than it kills; foreigners are blamed for attacks that hurt Afghan civilians; and schemes to win people over can deepen antagonism.