Good news: The New York Times reported this week that US airstrikes and special-operations troops are playing a key role in fighting back the Taliban’s latest offensive in Afghanistan.
Bad news: President Obama declared an end to US combat operations in Afghanistan months ago. Those ground forces are supposed to be advisers.
And the Times report lands the week of the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. America’s involvement in that war began with noncombat advisers, who wound up in combat . . .
The lesson of Vietnam was not that US intervention abroad is inevitably futile. It was that America’s leaders must level with the public about what any intervention involves.
By not calling American troops what they are, fighting boots on the ground, the president can continue claiming that withdrawal from Afghanistan has been a success. Making it a success is another matter.
We’re all for getting the job done in Afghanistan — but getting it done requires public support and presidential honesty.