WASHINGTON — If you search for the metrics to winning the war in Afghanistan, you will get plenty of results, plenty of metrics — and no victory declared.
And that may be the way it will be, indefinitely. At best, the U.S. is seeking success, not victory, experts are now saying.
The U.S.-led coalition is deep into a unique, historical winter offensive in Afghanistan, a strategy in large part designed to keep the Taliban and other foes off balance to prevent them from resting and preparing for the traditional massive spring attacks. While the concept it strong, the motivation is suspect, some say.
“What the Army and Air Force are trying to do is to find some new thing that they have tried to get (movement),” said Loren Thompson, a defense scholar at the non-profit Lexington Institute. “That is what the winter offense is, a different approach that is to throw the enemy off balance…. by keeping the war going.”
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