How Not to Lose Afghanistan – Room for Debate Blog – NYTimes.com — Since Obama ordered the missile attack in Pakistan, the Afghanistan situation is going to become the focus of attention according to many pundits.

The essence of success is counterinsurgency, which requires boots on the ground, and plenty of them — 20 to 25 counterinsurgents for every 1,000 people, or some 600,000 for all of Afghanistan, a country larger and more populous than Iraq. The additional 30,000 American forces on tap for deployment to Afghanistan over the next year are sorely needed, but obviously insufficient to protect all 30 million people in the country.

However, insurgencies are not defeated by foreign forces. They are defeated by the security services of the afflicted nation. Thus the long-term answer to the Taliban’s insurgency has to be a much expanded Afghan National Army. Currently 70,000 and projected to grow to 135,000, the Afghan army is the most respected institution in that troubled country. It may need to reach 250,000, and be supported by a similarly sized police force, to provide the security that will cause the Taliban to wither.

Never forget that at the very beginning of this war the US Army had Mullah Omar — the head honcho of the Taliban — in their sights and could have killed him. Instead General Tommy Franks had to talk to the lawyers about the legality of shooting him probably to figure out his own liability. Instead Omar fled, on a bicycle. Franks was later given a medal and praised for all his good work.

As he chased Mullah Omar with his Predator, General Franks considered several times whether or not it was a propitious moment to shoot. Before he made a final decision, he would turn to the lawyer at his side – who happened to be a woman, in this case – and he would ask, “Any issues, ma’am?”

As Mullah Omar’s jeep raced along the road, General Franks withheld fire. Finally, the convoy stopped in front of a mosque, and Mullah Omar and his entourage went inside to pray. For the first time, the group was stationary and gathered in one place. General Franks turned to his lawyer: “Any issues, ma’am?”

“Yes, sir,” she answered. “There are issues.

Why do we even bother fighting these wars in the first place?