President Trump fails to realize something

that President Kennedy learned during the Cuban missile crisis: The military will always offer military solutions and promise victory. But there will never be a victory in Afghanistan for the U.S. because there isn’t a sustainable government that can rule the country and be an ally to us.

The Afghanistan War can very easily become a gigantic quagmire, because Trump’s temperament is to double down when things do not go his way. We should remember how the Vietnam War went down, all because President Lyndon Johnson took things personally. Increasing bodies and taking the gloves off is definitely not nation building.

Withdrawal is the only viable option. If the Taliban fighters play the long game like the North Vietnamese, they will come to the bargaining table as Trump wants. And just like President Nixon did, Trump will declare peace with honor.

Bullying Pakistan is the same as a dog that won’t hunt. Pakistan’s leaders are smarter than Trump and will pay lip service to U.S. demands so as to not to destabilize their own country. Otherwise, Trump may accomplish what President George W. Bush did in Iraq, destabilize the whole region.

Nevertheless, for a while, Trump’s saber rattling may improve his approval ratings, if only for a while. George Magakis

Norristown, Pa.