Publication

Whatever happens in Afghanistan over the next two to three years, the conflict is still largely seen in Washington as a "good war", in contrast to the Obama administration's view of Iraq as a "bad war". The argument, which is persuasive in the domestic environment, is that the Taliban must be defeated or at least brought under control because of linkages with al-Qaida and the 9/11 atrocities. Afghanistan therefore relates to homeland security in a way which Iraq simply does not. It is a country that must be made safe in order for it not to become a secure base for the al-Qaida movement, this being the primary focus of US security concerns.