'..skeptical of waging comprehensive counterinsurgency warfare in distant foreign lands.'

'Military commanders in Afghanistan, absent political guidance and a diplomatic strategy, have filled the vacuum by waging a war all agree cannot be won militarily.'

- Eikenberry


'Mr. Eikenberry said that unlike his generation, many of the military leaders who began at the tactical level in the wars immediately after Sept. 11 had grown skeptical of waging comprehensive counterinsurgency warfare in distant foreign lands.'

'During his tenure, the longest by an American commander, he helped double the size of the Afghan special forces and triple that of the country’s air force. But he and his fellow generals tout a temporary rare cease-fire in June as a major success under his watch, a reflection of how much the goals and expectations of the American military have changed.

Mr. Eikenberry said that unlike his generation, many of the military leaders who began at the tactical level in the wars immediately after Sept. 11 had grown skeptical of waging comprehensive counterinsurgency warfare in distant foreign lands.

But they continue to play large roles, in a war that only grows more complicated. “Warrior-diplomat” is how Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the most senior American military leader at the ceremony in Kabul, described General Nicholson.

“Military commanders in Afghanistan, absent political guidance and a diplomatic strategy, have filled the vacuum by waging a war all agree cannot be won militarily,” Mr. Eikenberry said. “Their mission has been to ‘make progress,’ which they themselves define and which is often unrelated to the tasks of delivering a sustainable peace and the withdrawal of U.S. forces.” '

- Mujib Mashal, ‘Time for This War in Afghanistan to End,’ Says Departing U.S. Commander, September 2, 2018



Context

End the war

'..Positive Peace as a holistic, systemic framework.'

Decode the meaning of the terrorists' aberrant behavior from the perspective of early childhood development and trauma


'..Pentagon spending .. substantial and enduring budget reductions..'

'..the Power of Love .. seeks to build up .. no need to flex violent muscles or seek vengeance .. is patient .. does not keep score..'