At a recent talk before the National Press Club, General David Petraeus, said it was impossible to define “victory” on the basis of how many of the enemy was killed in a fight. He argued the fight against the Taliban was going ‘mildly positive” but refused to be pinned down on whether there is need for more troops in Afghanistan. A major issue raised at this discussion was how to deal with troops who are on multiple deployment and are fatigued, but at the same time, they must be alert and ready to fight despite exhaustion.
It is legitimate to ask how does one define “victory in Afghanistan? We just sent 20,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan but no one cane readily define when we know if this thing called “victory” has ever happened. Is there something wrong with this approach?
