Retired US four-star general Stanley McChrystal on Friday said that the U.S. must take a ‘patient approach’ in Afghanistan in order to ensure stability in the region for the long term.
“We will benefit from a stable Afghanistan,” McChrystal, who oversaw U.S. and coalition forces in the country, told US’s Hill.TV’s.
“The ways to get that are hard though. There’s not a clever, simple answer here. You can’t go and suddenly defeat the Taliban because of their reaction to poor governance,” he continued.
“The solution in Afghanistan is a longterm development of the nation, a long-term improvement of democracy, a repairing of the culture. That’s not something we can go in and do with a bunch of money and a bunch of people in a short period of time,” he said.
“I think we’re going to have to take a very patient approach, partner with the Afghan people. Don’t pile too much money. Don’t pile too many troops. Be patient, prepare to be frustrated. It’s a little bit like raising a child because they’ve got to repair their entire society,” he said.
The main objective of U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan is to support Afghan forces fighting the Taliban under the NATO’s Resolute Support.
In 2018 alone, 8 U.S. service members have died in combat in Afghanistan, adding to the 2,400 U.S. forces who have died in the conflict overall. The civilian deaths are also mounting in figures in the country and the Taliban have been inflicting attacks constantly too.
