Are We Expecting The Impossible ?

The goal of the war in Afghanistan as stated by President Obama is to reach a place where the Afghans can defend their country against a Taliban takeover and move forward as a democracy.  It sounds really good, but in a article posted in the National Review Online yesterday, Andrew McCarthy lists a few problems with the basic concept.

Mr. McCarthy cites the case of Pfc. Nasser Abdo, a Muslim American soldier who refused to deploy to Afghanistan. Heeding the admonitions of CAIR and other Muslim Brotherhood operatives, the Pentagon accepted the claim that sharia forbids Muslims from assisting infidels in a war against Muslim forces in an Islamic land.  Pfc Abdo has been granted "conscientious objector" status on his claim that sharia forbids Muslims from assisting infidels in a war against Muslim forces in an Islamic land. 

Mr. McCarthy points out:

"News Flash One: The war in Afghanistan, an Islamic land, is a war waged by infidels (that would be us) against Muslim forces -- the Taliban, al-Qaeda, the Haqqani network, etc.

"News Flash Two: The operating theory of the American counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy in Afghanistan is that the hearts and minds of the population of this tribal sharia society will side with us non-Muslims in a war against their fellow Muslims, most of whom are also their fellow Afghans."

We are going to ask Muslims to go against sharia law (parts of which have been written into their country's constitution) and prevent the Taliban (fellow Muslims) from again taking over Afghanistan.  Right.

Mr. McCarthy further points out:

"There's just one problem with it. Okay, there's a ton of problems, but let's get to the big one: If we acknowledge that sharia is a valid reason not to send an American Muslim to fight against his fellow Muslims in Afghanistan, what on earth makes us think the Afghan Muslims are going to fight their fellow Afghan Muslims in furtherance of American national-security interests?"

I don't even have a clue what the right answer is here.  I think we need to follow our own example of Germany and Japan and win the war, then partially redo the culture to bring Afghanistan into the 21st century.  However, if our great friends the Saudis won't even let women drive in their country and have no problem with that, I think changing the culture in any way may not be possible.  I wonder if it would be better just to make it known that any terrorist attack on the United States or any of its assets or people abroad will be met with unbelievable force and would be a really bad idea.