General David Petraeus, the dude John McCain said during the 2008 presidential campaign we should all regard as a sure-as-shootin’ infallible oracle on all things military, has, according to the Washington Post, pronounced Afghanistan “the graveyard of empires,” and more or less counseled the Obama administration that it cannot hope to “win” in that region.
In addition to more combat troops, Petraeus called for “a surge in civilian capacity” to help rebuild villages, train local police forces, tackle corruption in the Afghan government and reduce the country’s thriving opium trade. He also suggested that the odds of success were low, given that foreign military powers have historically met with defeat in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan has been known over the years as the graveyard of empires,” he said. “We cannot take that history lightly.”
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