Afghanistan 101
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A series of estimates in the 1960s and early 1970s warned the Johnson and Nixon administrations that the South Vietnamese government was corrupt, that it would not be a strategic ally in the war against the North, and that the strategic bombing campaign would fail.
As philosopher George Santayana's wrote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Five Myths on Afghanistan - by Melvin A. Goodman
Melvin A. Goodman is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and an adjunct professor of government at Johns Hopkins University. His 42-year government career includes service with the CIA, State Department, Defense Department and the US Army. His most recent book is "Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA."
President Barack Obama is entering a crucial decision-making phase on Afghanistan at a time when geopolitical mythology is dominating the debate, the Pentagon is requesting additional forces in Afghanistan.
The military bureaucracy is particularly vulnerable to such mythology. It is unfortunate that the intelligence community has not prepared a National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan, which would better inform the White House debate. The military has accepted five major myths with respect to Afghanistan.