The slide at left was published by Noah Shachtman in the post summarizing the top military intelligence officer in Afghanistan's current assesment of the war: "'Afghan Insurgency Can Sustain Itself Indefinitely': Top US Intel Officer."
The most frustrating part of the report to my mind? Here:
"The presentation also cast doubt on some of the war’s stated central aims. The Obama administration has repeatedly said that additional troops are necessary to prevent a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan — which would then allow Al Qaeda the re-establigh its safe haven there. According to interviews with detainees, however, the insurgents “view Al Qaeda as a handicap – a view that is increasingly prevalent.” The Taliban feel they have to “manage [the] relationship with AQ to avoid alienating Afghan population, but encourage support from [the] global jihad network.”" Could we have gotten this thing before we doubled down on the war in order to beat Al Qaeda?!
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