By Eric T. OlsonWith great expectations on their shoulders, the first US troops of a 17,000-strong surge are headed to Afghanistan.
But to do what?
Even Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has admitted that these soldiers are being sent without a clear strategy. Several missions have been proposed to turn back a Taliban resurgence. How will 17,000 more troops accomplish any one of them -- let alone all?
The beefed-up effort has been fueled by the belief that the successful surge in Iraq can be replicated in Afghanistan.
It can't.
I speak from experience: For a year, I was the operational commander for all coalition forces in Afghanistan. Later, I was the deputy director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office. The conditions that favored success in Iraq are conspicuously lacking in Afghanistan.
That doesn't mean success there will be impossible -- just very difficult. It will require a custom strategy that takes account of hard, local realities.