The seemingly interminable war in Afghanistan continues to be costly in American lives and wounds — not to mention in billions of dollars in taxes and headaches — with no end in sight.
Now, the Pentagon, for the first time since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, has announced plans to freeze its growing budget — in 2015. The Army and Marines will be shrunk, and medical care premiums for military retirees and their families will rise.
With those measures, the Pentagon hopes not to seek a budget increase in 2015. So is it quietly assumed the Afghanistan fighting will still be going on in 2015?
That’s discouraging. Ending fighting before then should be our goal — if we can do so without worse consequences.