Mission critical.

• Author: Saperstein, Guy T.
• Position: LETTERS - Letter to the editor

While I am impressed with Peter Bergen's knowledge of Afghanistan, in his long article in your July/August issue ["Winning the Good War"] he fails to address the core questions about the war: Why are we fighting the Taliban? There are crucial differences between the goals of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, so why are we treating them the same? Why do we have 70,000 combat troops, plus private mercenaries, there? How many more will be needed? What will it ultimately cost? What is the exit strategy?

Bergen suggests the U.S. must not only reform the Afghanistan army and government, but also provide...