Peace Can Come to Afghanistan Soon

Conditions in Afghanistan and around the world are creating a chance to rapidly bring peace to Afghanistan in the near future – faster than conventional wisdom thinks is possible. The people of both America and Afghanistan are tired of war. Even many lower-level insurgents are tired of fighting.  Historically, many insurgencies have begun resolving themselves after around eight years.  Given these realities, the U.S. should state a clear goal of leaving as soon as morally possible and make an official (if not public) call for negotiations to begin.  Doing this will open the door to peace.

Update 9/15/2010:  NPR story - Petraeus on "reconciliation" and a "more nuanced" approach
Update 7/31/2010:  A NY Times article showing some movement in the right direction

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan has fundamentally changed. We no longer face a credible threat to our homeland from Afghanistan. However, if western forces left the country the way it is now, Afghanistan would descend into violence and oppression that would be as bad or worse than when America invaded.  If this happened, it would be seen as a strategic defeat for America and would be morally reprehensible.

Our mission in Afghanistan should be publicly redirected towards leaving as soon as it is morally possible to do so. We must work towards a solution that leaves all legitimate stakeholders with a say in the future of Afghanistan.  Doing this officially would defeat many of the lies told by insurgents in Afghanistan to the people. It would place morally superior political pressure on the Afghan government to find a solution. It would open the door to meaningful negotiations with all parties currently vying for power in Afghanistan, which is the only possible way this conflict can end favorably for the U.S.

We have to accept that the end state will likely not be a strong centrally governed democracy.  It will be a distinctly Afghan solution.  America will be the catylist for this process and must act from a position of military and political strength, keeping pressure on both the Taliban and the Afghan government.  But the point is that peace can happen now.