Although these words were never, on record, said, they would be really fitting to describe the United States' involvement in the Middle East. We all know that the wars on terror were (are) a failure. The question is, however, why so? To claim that the goals of the operation were unclear is an understatement. In all technicality, no one actually knew what the goals were. Was the United States fighting to establish a democratic government? Provide the means for these nations to create their own government? Take down Al-Qaeda and the Taliban? All these questions were left unanswered, and different high ranking officials had different understandings of the mission. Now, although it is possible to achieve something without knowing what you are aiming for, when it comes to military involvement, that becomes a tad harder. It's hard to allocate resources when you lack priorities. A broad "war for good" cannot possibly achieve any real results. Operations cannot succeed, as logistics are far behind where they should be at. Take for example Marja, located in the Nad Ali District of Afghanistan. The NATO coordinated operation Moshtarak, aimed to remove the Taliban from the area. However, though the initial mission was successful, the Taliban knew the place was a ticking bomb. As soon as the foreign forces would leave, the Taliban could simply walk back in an regain control. This is a clear situation where planning and logistics were sub-par, allowing for a less than effective means to control an issue. The Obama administration has tried to narrow the goals into, well, goals, but only time will tell if these are clear cut, achievable objectives. If they are not, only more of the same mess will ensue.
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