WASHINGTON, September 14, 2009–The newspapers are becoming more and more critical of the failing war in Afghanistan, without offering any new ideas or solutions. Elan Journo, a fellow with the Ayn Rand Center, is the editor of a new book on American foreign policy since 9/11, and has recently written an op-ed on the war in Afghanistan.
Mr. Journo writes: “Eight years ago, practically everyone agreed we must (and could) eliminate the Taliban and its jihadist allies–a primitively equipped force thousands of times less powerful than Imperial Japan. Now that goal seems unreachable. Why have we been so unsuccessful?
“Defeating the Islamist threat demanded that we fight to crush the jihadists. Victory demanded we recognize the unwelcome necessity of civilian casualties and place blame for them at the hands of the aggressor (as we were more willing to do in World War II). Victory demanded allowing our unmatched military to do its job–without qualification. Instead, our leaders waged a ‘compassionate’ war. In Washington’s ‘compassionate’ war, we give the enemy every advantage–and then compel our soldiers to fight with their hands tied . . . ever tighter.
“How many more Americans must die before we challenge this conception of a proper war?”
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Mr. Journo is a fellow with the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, and editor of and chief contributor to the forthcoming book: “Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism.” He specializes in foreign policy and the Middle East. His writings have appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times, and the Globe and Mail of Canada. He is also a contributing writer for “The Objective Standard,” a quarterly journal of culture and politics. Mr. Journo has been a guest on numerous nationally syndicated radio programs.
To interview Mr. Journo or book him for your show, please contact: media@aynrandcenter.org or call 202-609-7470.
For more information on Objectivism’s unique point of view, go to ARC’s Web site. The Ayn Rand Center promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand, author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead
