NO IDEA

McChrystal: U.S. Wasn’t Ready for Afghan War

Says officials’ view of nation was "frighteningly simplistic."

This won’t be reassuring for supporters of the Afghan War. Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said Thursday that the U.S.’s view of Afghanistan at the beginning of the war was “frighteningly simplistic.” He added that a decade later, the nation still does not have the knowledge to end the battle. The comments came at the Council on Foreign Relations, where the commander, who was at the helm of the forces in 2009 and 2010, said that the U.S. and NATO are barely half way to reaching their goals—mainly that of starting a government. McChrystal said that in 2001, the U.S. “didn’t know enough,” and didn’t try to learn the language. It didn’t end there: McChrystal went on to criticize the Bush administration for invading Iraq less than two years after entering Afghanistan.