In a radio interview with the BBC, the “top NATO commander in Afghanistan says hardfought gains by alliance troops this year could be lost, if Afghan security forces fail to hold ground seized from the Taleban.”

U.S. General Dan McNeill said NATO forces have had success this year in driving Taleban fighters from the valleys of Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province. But McNeill says the Afghan national security forces have not been as successful in holding the captured territory. He says there is a chance the Taleban could return to the area in coming months, forcing NATO troops to do the clearing work again.

This news must have come as a shock to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Earlier this month, Rumsfeld argued that the war in Afghanistan has been “a big success.”

“Look at Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, 28 million people are free. They have their own president, they have their own parliament. Improved a lot on the streets.”

All your theories worked there, in other words.

“It’s been a big success!”

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