Exacerbated.

Editor,

If there were a justifiable reason for waging war in Afghanistan, Washington would have a uniform sense of purpose, the American people would enthusiastically support the project, as would the Afghan government, the Afghan people, and General McChrystal.

Dissension in the ranks is merely symptomatic of the disarray among a leadership in Washington who have no idea what they are doing or why they are doing it.

Al Qaeda, terrorism, hatred for Israel, hatred for American support for Israel, hatred for American support for brutal regimes in the Muslim world, and hatred for the American military presence in the Muslim world will not go away even if the U.S. "wins" -- whatever that means -- their war in Afghanistan.

Hatred cannot be eradicated by war, only exacerbated. Or, as Michael Franti has said: "You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace."

Re: "Afghanistan, After McChrystal" (6/24/2010)