Huffington Post: As a young National Guard Infantry Officer in Afghanistan, I learned from my commander that "a 75 percent plan on time is always better than a 100 percent plan too late." The fight we were engaged in was complex, but one simple fact that I observed to be true in Afghanistan applies worldwide: wherever there is hardship and instability, violent radicals and local authoritarian thugs thrived. The battles of the 21st century have largely been waged to protect some of the world's most vulnerable populations....