Afghanistan war logs

Between January 2004 and December 2009 the war in Afghanistan did not go well. During this time civilians were killed by the coalition forces and by the Taliban, Pakistani intelligence organisation was working with the Taliban, and the coalition forces even killed each other from time to time.

These 'revelations' are documented in the so-called Afghanistan war logs made public by Wikileaks.

The Guardian Weekly comments that "these war logs show a conflict that is brutally messy, confused and immediate". The paper goes on to say that "it is in some contrast with the tidied-up and sanitised "public" war, as glimpsed through official communiques". And lastly the war is "clumsily prosecuted".

Is this really something new to the Guardian Weekly and the general public? Most people are aware that militaries and governments do not tell everything about ongoing operations. Mostly it is because the enemy might get useful information and generally it is a good idea not to give too much information to the enemy. When it comes to the fact that the war in Afghanistan is messy one should only read few books on military history to understand that throughout history wars have always been messy and clumsily prosecuted. War is hell. It was true 2000 years ago and it is true today.

Regarding the accuracy of the logs, International Herald Tribune reminds us that "the archive is clearly an incomplete record of the war. It is missing many references to seminal events and does not include information that is more highly classified". Further "the documents also do not cover events in 2010, when the influx of more troops into Afghanistan began and a new counterinsurgency strategy took hold". So one should also use other sources if one wants a better picture of the situation on the ground and not put too much faith on a selection of documents.

The Wall Street Journal has a different, more balanced view of the logs. The Journal points out that the logs cannot be compared with the Pentagon Papers from the 1970's. The Afghanistan war logs demonstrate how Pentagon gathers and shares information. They are not about misleading the public.

Pakistan could do more in the fight against terrorism. However, "the leak of selective documents" will not improve the situation. It could complicate the cooperation between the US and Pakistan, cooperation which has began to improve in the past months.

Finally, it would not be prudent to make any hasty conclusions regarding the US war effort in Afghanistan based solely on past performance. The Obama administration has increased troop levels and renewed counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan and it would be good to give these more time to have an impact on the situation. Should there be an immediate and hasty American withdrawal from the country it would bring more problems for the Afghan civilians.

Sources:
The Wall Street Journal, 2 August 2010
The Guardian Weekly, 30 July-5 August 2010
The Wall Street Journal, 27 July 2010
International Herald Tribune, 26 July 2010