Hy Rothstein and John Arquilla make the point that’s been proven time and again about Afghanistan, that foreign occupiers face a quagmire in an almost ungovernable country (“Trump’s Afghan Policy Goes Wrong,” op-ed, Nov. 17). President Obama desperately wanted to pull all forces out of Iraq and Afghanistan, but he was trapped by his oft-repeated campaign statement that Afghanistan was the “smart war.” Forced into a corner, Mr. Obama had no choice but to agree with the Pentagon’s plan for a major surge, but he gave the generals fewer troops than they asked for and told the world (and the enemy) the exact time we would...

Source: Wall Street Journal November 26, 2017 20:37 UTC