Retired Gen. McChrystal says the US must take ‘patient approach’ in Afghanistan

Retired four-star general Stanley McChrystal on Friday said that the U.S. must take a patient approach in Afghanistan in order to stabilize the nation for the long term. 

“We will benefit from a stable Afghanistan,” McChrystal, who oversaw U.S. and coalition forces in the country, told Hill.TV’s Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball on “Rising.” 

“The ways to get that are hard though. There’s not a clever, simple answer here. You can’t go and suddenly defeat the Taliban because of their reaction to poor governance,” he continued. 

“The solution in Afghanistan is a longterm development of the nation, a long-term improvement of democracy, a repairing of the culture. That’s not something we can go in and do with a bunch of money and a bunch of people in a short period of time,” he said.

“I think we’re going to have to take a very patient approach, partner with the Afghan people. Don’t pile too much money. Don’t pile too many troops. Be patient, prepare to be frustrated. It’s a little bit like raising a child because they’ve got to repair their entire society,” he said. 

The main objective of U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan is to support Afghan forces fighting the Taliban. 

The Taliban rejected a peace deal from the U.S. last month, which would have set an April 2019 deadline to end the 17-year-old conflict, which is the longest in U.S. history. 

Eight U.S. service members have died in combat this year in Afghanistan, adding to the 2,400 U.S. forces who have died in the conflict. 

— Julia Manchester