Aghan Graveyard

By Ralph Peters

May 14, 2009 --THE conflict in Afghanistan was a special-operations war in 2001, and it's a special-operations war in 2009. Everything in between was deadly make-believe.

The latest casualty of our incoherent effort is Gen. David McKiernan. On Monday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates removed him from command of our Afghan operations after McKiernan objected to being sidelined.

If Congress approves, Gates will replace McKiernan with Lt. Gen. Stan McChrystal, a career-long special operator and a brilliant killer. McChrystal's special-ops fighters, such as the Army's Special Forces, Rangers and "black" elements, or the Navy's SEALs, do the violent, secret work that others fear or shun. Consistently, they've inflicted the key enemy casualties in our now-nameless struggle with terrorists.

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