Afghanistan War: Ex-Commander Stanley McChrystal Says U.S. Started War With 'Frighteningly Simplistic' View Of Country

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. began the war in Afghanistan with a "frighteningly simplistic" view of the country, and even 10 years later lacks knowledge that could help bring the conflict to a successful end, a former top commander said Thursday.

Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations that the U.S. and its NATO allies are only "a little better than" 50 percent of the way to reaching their war goals.

Of the remaining tasks to be accomplished, he said the most difficult may be creating a legitimate government that ordinary Afghans can believe in and that can serve as a counterweight to the Taliban.

McChrystal, who commanded coalition forces in 2009-10 and was forced to resign in a flap over a magazine article, said the U.S. entered Afghanistan in October 2001 with too little knowledge of Afghan culture.

"We didn't know enough and we still don't know enough," he said. "Most of us – me included – had a very superficial understanding of the situation and history, and we had a frighteningly simplistic view of recent history, the last 50 years."

U.S. forces did not know the country's languages and did not make "an effective effort" to learn them, he said.

McChrystal also said that the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq less than two years after entering Afghanistan made the Afghan effort more difficult.

"I think they were made more difficult, clearly," he said because the Iraq invasion "changed the Muslim world's view of America's effort. When we went after the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, there was a certain understanding that we had the ability and the right to defend ourselves and the fact that al-Qaida had been harbored by the Taliban was legitimate. I think when we made the decision to go into Iraq that was less legitimate" in the eyes of much of the Muslim world.

Iraq also diverted some military resources that could have been put to good use in Afghanistan, he said.

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Comments

[ColleenHarper]

09:30 PM on 10/09/2011

Thank you Gen. McChrystal for saying some very sensible and straightforward words about both our war in Afghanistan and our mistake in Iraq.

President Bush, where are the WMD's?

[Republicae]

08:45 AM on 10/09/2011

In other words, Dr. Ron Paul is RIGHT! He is RIGHT about foreign policy, RIGHT about economic policy, RIGHT about monetary policy....

[ciskokid]

05:53 PM on 10/08/2011

Another expert assessment that Cheney (the radical brains of Bush) energized anti-American feelings on the part of many Muslims.

[zt54]

03:33 PM on 10/08/2011

I think this writer focus on quotes out of context misses the real message and work of McChrystal who is a really tough dude. No one has done more to close and kill the enemy than him.

He is discussing things as a problem solver, things that kept him from killing more of our enemies

[rcballi46]

03:06 PM on 10/08/2011

I think Mr. McCrystal (He is not on active duty - hence he is now a civilian and should be addressed as one), is trying to sell a book!

[Fit2betied]

12:47 PM on 10/08/2011

It's a known fact that the Bush administration was clueless about Afghanistan and Iraq. They conducted these wars the same way they conducted the rest of the nation's business, which was incompetently.

[atexasdem]

10:32 PM on 10/08/2011

When presidents or candidates get countries, even continents confused, you know, there's a problem.

[Whispers]

11:53 AM on 10/08/2011

Gen. Stanley "Verbal" McChrystal just can stop running his mouth.

Given command General "Verbal" accomplished little or nothing of substance. He leadership skills was terrible, his field success few. He ought to be silent and burry his head in shame!

[pbrower2a]

11:49 AM on 10/08/2011

It is remarkable that after nearly a decade of war in Afghanistan that "we" have accomplished fewer than 50% of our objectives. Obviously one of the biggest of those objectives was to get Osama bin Laden, and that success looks more like a Mafia hit (the right way to do it) by people who got the chance and orders. Nobody reasonably believes that Osama bin Laden was going to walk to a US embassy and turn himself in.

We might not know everything, but we don't need to know everything. But what we need to know we must know accurately ...and the necessity implied in "need to know" implies that we need to act appropriately. We should have heeded what would have been the wise counsel of Russian, French, and German intelligence about Iraq; if we did, then we might be celebrating the downfall of the infernal regime of Saddam Hussein much as we celebrate the political demise of Moammar Qaddafi instead of regretting the price that we pay for the Dubya follies.

Dubya -- reckless and incompetent. A six-year-old child can move his hands upon a map, and so could Dubya. Dubya got results even worse than those that a six0year-old child usually gets.

[njdanie]

10:19 AM on 10/08/2011

Afghanistan is an artificial country created by colonialism. Just like Iraq, it should be divided into about 3 or four separate countries...

[Whispers]

11:49 AM on 10/08/2011

Based on this brain-free illogic, the United States which was "created by (mainly British, French, Spanish, African, Asian) colonialism" should be divided into 5 or 10 or 20 different countries?

[njdanie]

01:02 PM on 10/08/2011

Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans share a common culture and language (or used to). The different colonies and territories agreed and/or petitioned to join the Union. Iraq has three different cultures, Persian Shiite, Arab Sunni and Kurds with their corresponding turf and were forced together by the Ottoman empire. Afganistan has, I think, 4 main cultures: Pashtun, Hazaras, Tajik and Uzbeks. Given the lack of a true sense of nationalism, it's no wonder 'warlords' seem to dominate the power structure.

[RMax304823]

01:37 PM on 10/10/2011

He didn't say that. Britain acquired much of the Middle East from the Turks in WWI and called it Mesopotamia. They left in the 30s after drawing some division lines on a map. They paid little attention to tribal or regional allegiances.

He said nothing about the United States, which won its independence from Britain. I don't know where you got "African" and "Asian" colonialism from, but I wouldn't carry on too much about "brain-free illogic" if I were you.

[B Powell]

08:54 AM on 10/08/2011

I see a lot of opinions on the matter, and even more ignorance. People, we're in Afghanistan, NOT AT WAR WITH THE PEOPLE. The Taliban are Primarily Pak and Iranian. NOT Afghan. McCrystal is right. These people don't care who is "in charge." Taliban, US, it doesn't matter, they just wanna live how they have for 1800 years and that's it. Our downfall is they don't have loyalty to anyone but their tribal ties. When you speak to these people about Taliban, they say "oh I know Yusif, he is from my tribe! Why you not like my tribe??" After that, NOTHING else matters.

[Fit2betied]

12:49 PM on 10/08/2011

I bet the people of Afghanistan would not agree with your statement since it's their sons and daughters being maimed and killed.

[chuck nathaniel]

09:39 PM on 10/08/2011

You'd think so, right? Except they are also being maimed and killed by NATO. So you can see why they prefer to not pick sides.

Plus, they all know NATO leaves one day, and they and the taliban will stay. Why would they possibly cooperate?

[620five]

08:29 AM on 10/08/2011

"Our country now appears, as at no other time in her history, like a lumbering, bellicose, dim-witted giant. Anyone who cares about the fate of civilization would do well to recognize that the combination of great power and great stupidity is simply terrifying." -- Sam Harris.

[Fit2betied]

12:50 PM on 10/08/2011

Very true

[Ramkshrestha]

05:11 AM on 10/08/2011

War must be to change ourselves and not to change others. We need Movement to help to change others. War to change others could bring series of wars. Let's try to change ourselves first. This could be the only way to change the world to save for our future generations.

[acudoc]

01:59 AM on 10/08/2011

Too bad he didn't speak up earlier. As far as I know, he swore to defend and protect the Constitution, which required a Declaration of War.

But you know them generals. Any war will do...

[Davwbaird]

11:17 PM on 10/07/2011

wonderful r who started it?

[bobo5]

09:35 PM on 10/07/2011

Bush knew that the Ottoman Empire was a store next to Ethan Allen.

[Whispers]

11:56 AM on 10/08/2011

OMG! You could be right, lol.