Editorial: Failures in Afghanistan

Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006 | 7:09 a.m.

As the totality of the Bush administration's mistake in invading Iraq, and its tragic failure there, became more apparent over the past two years, the news from Afghanistan receded to the back pages.

But Saturday and again on Monday, The New York Times featured lengthy front-page stories from that country, which is where the war against terrorism should have been focused all along.

And the news was not good.

On Saturday the newspaper reported about an unbelievable trend, that of negotiating deals with the Taliban. In the country's Helmund Province, for example, fighting ended after a deal that led to both the Taliban and British forces withdrawing to areas of sanctuary.

A member of Afghanistan's Parliament expressed utter disbelief. "This ... has sent two messages: one, recognition for the enemy, and two, military defeat. This is a model for the destruction of the country."

Monday's story sounds as if it could have been written from Iraq. It was about the inability of Afghan police forces to do their jobs, despite five years of training by U.S. forces. The Times, quoting from a report by the Pentagon and the State Department, reported that the Afghan police are largely ineffectual and that there is virtually no accounting for their daily whereabouts or for their U.S.-issued equipment, including thousands of trucks.

All of this recalls President Bush's mimicry of Churchillian oratory in the days after 9/11. His words still ring in our ears: "We will not waver, we will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail."

On Wednesday the nonpartisan Iraq Study Group, formed in an effort to salvage the war there with new strategies and tactics, will release its report. What is needed now is an Afghanistan Study Group.