April 19, 2017
Don't Celebrate Dropping The 'MOAB' In Afghanistan - It's Just More Of The Same
Last week's utilization of a 21,000 pound bomb to destroy an ISIS cave complex in Afghanistan was oddly met with jubilation. But as the dust settles, both literally and metaphorically, it is worth asking what we are celebrating.
While large explosions are interesting in and of themselves, the act of dropping the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ was given greater importance than the impact of the ordnance itself. Many saw it as a ‘turning point’ in the war and a ‘gloves off’ moment in the fight against ISIS. Unfortunately, neither interpretation holds, and the utilization of this bomb is only indicative of our continuing failures in Afghanistan.
For one, we’ve been dropping large bombs on Afghanistan for nearly sixteen years, including similar yet smaller bombs on Taliban and Al Qaeda strongholds. Indeed, the overall tonnage of ordnance dropped makes the MOAB an exceptionally small rounding error in the overall total. In the process the United States has killed thousands of members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and now regularly adds members of ISIS to that total. Yet despite all this bombing, transnational terrorist groups are still operating in Afghanistan.
Read the full article at the Independent Journal Review.
More from CNAS
-
How Trump Will Change the World
Commentary
Trump has won the chance to determine U.S. national security policy and will wield the impressive power embodied in the men and women now waiting to work for him....
By Peter Feaver
-
More than the Sum of its Parts: Developing a Coordinated U.S.-Australian Response to Potential Chinese Aggression
Commentary
If China engaged in a war of aggression, the United States, Australia, and other nations would not have much time to develop a coordinated response....
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
“The Ayatollah Has No Clothes” – with Rich Goldberg and Richard Fontaine
Podcast
Richard Fontaine is CEO of the Center for American Security, joins Call Me Back to assess the threat FROM Iran and the threat TO Iran. Listen to the full episode on Call Me ...
By Richard Fontaine
-
To Focus on China, U.S. Needs to Wean off Europe and Middle East Missions
Commentary
If the United States cannot rebalance its military focus toward the Indo-Pacific it risks expediting Chinese aggression in the region and furthering the decline of the US-led ...
By Carlton Haelig
