Afghanistan Was a Limited War With Limited Success
Superpowers have great trouble in conflicts in which they are unable or unwilling to bring their full force to bear.
Peripheral.
Photographer: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images
Another limited war, another unsatisfying outcome. The U.S. is on the brink of withdrawing from Afghanistan, just shy of 20 years after it invaded that country, and well short of any desired resolution. At best, America will leave behind a mess; at worst, withdrawal may precipitate strategic setbacks and a humanitarian disaster.
That legacy will be seen as a commentary on America’s post-9/11 wars — conflicts, critics allege, that were launched in a fit of unipolar hubris. But Afghanistan fits within a larger pattern. The U.S. has a long, checkered history in wars fought with limited means for limited aims, simply because these are the conflicts in which it is hardest for a superpower to succeed.