Colonel Patrick Lang’s Prescient Warning on Afghanistan
My friend and mentor, Colonel W. Patrick Lang (USARMY Retired) participated in a debate in New York City eleven years ago on the proposition that the US could not win a war in Afghanistan based on the Obama Administration’s declared counterinsurgency strategy.
Pat is not an armchair warrior. Pat fought in Vietnam and then learned Arabic. Pat established the Arabic language program at West Point in 1976 and, along with his wife (also a skilled linguist), taught cadets for two years. Pat subsequently served as Defense Attache in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. His Arabic was flawless. But he wasn’t done serving his country. He was Chief of the Middle East Division at the Defense Intelligence Agency. For me, Pat is like E.F.
