What does the story of a night raid in Wardak province tell us about the consequences of our war in Afghanistan?

Are we preparing for an American invasion of Pakistan’s tribal regions? Actions by the Pakistani military, comments from the intelligence community, and even the White House response to new terror attacks seem to suggest these preparations are already under way. And no good can come of it.

The video above shows a survivor of a brutal, botched special forces raid on February 12, 2010, in which U.S. and allied forces killed 5 civilians, including local Afghan officials and pregnant women. If that were the extent of the bad conduct in this incident, it would be devastating enough. Unfortunately, personnel under McChrystal’s command compounded the outrage by tampering with evidence at the scene and then attempted a propaganda job and cover-up of the massacre, which has now blown up in their faces.

Former South Carolina senator Fritz Hollings has an excellent editorial out today calling the US war in Afghanistan “Not Necessary.” It’s always good to see fiscal conservatives sticking to their beliefs and opposing the incredible cost, but Hollings also stakes his reputation and personal experience with Vietnam against the current conflict:

Q: Why would U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan go out of their way to smear a journalist? A: Because he told the truth about a night raid that killed Afghan civilians, including pregnant women. Last week, I spoke with Afghanistan-based journalist Jerome Starkey about his reporting on special forces raids that killed civilians and [...]

An Offshore Strategy using only special forces and drones is not a serious solution, and in some ways is even worse than our current escalation policy.