Did you support the invasion of Afghanistan before 9/11?

[Wonk]

Time magazine article from June 2001

(snips)

If Bin Laden didn't exist, we'd have to invent him

He's not ducking blame, he's demanding it

(/snips)

on edit: added this other link as well
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/main/timelinebefore2001.html

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Absolutely not.

:)

[VTMechEngr]

2. I knew about the taliban.

Thought they made the nazis look good with their compassion for their fellow man. (or should I say women).

[Sibanetta]

4. Question on Afghanistan

I knew about the Taliban...and that Jay Leno's wife was trying to help the women they were oppressing. I remember that the Taliban tore down ancient Buddhist statues. I thought it would be a good thing if something was done to help the women.

I only became emotionally involved with Afghanistan after 9/11, when we were trying to roust out Bin Laden (what a joke!).

Sibanetta

[newyawker99]

19. Hi Sibanetta!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Zorba607]

3. forgive me

I did, I knew not then what I know now.
Wait, I just reread the question. Prior to 911 I couldn't give a shit about afghanistan. Post 911 I bought the anger and lets bomb people to fix what ails us. Now I'm just disillusioned

[Blue_Chill]

5. No, but I did after 9/11 and I still do

I can't wait to see Osama captured that bastard and all of the Taliban deserve to be behind bars.

[Pastiche423]

7. I have been

waiting a long time to see proof that OBL and the Taliban were responsible for the Septembet 11, 2001 attacks.

Would you please present that proof here and now?

[Blue_Chill]

So are you saying that the smiling OBL

on the tapes had absolutely nothing to do with it. Is there a reason you doubt our intel agencies and Clinton that have been saying this guy has been doing this shit for years now?

[Pastiche423]

17. Are you saying

that the smiling OBL did have something to do w/it? If so, where is your proof?

In the tape w/the either fat or skinny (I never can remember which) OBL, not one time did he confess.

You're damn straight I doubt who did it.

You believe whistle ass and his enabling whistlers?????????

:wow: :wow:

[Skittles]

8. you are seriously deluded

if you think the war in Afghanistan had ANYTHING to do with Osama OR the Taliban.

[Blue_Chill]

16. Only here does *NOT* putting on a tin hat

make one 'seriously deluded'.

[stevebreeze]

6. sad to say but there was less evidence on Afganistan then Iraq

Though I think there is more to be had I think the resident was encouraged by citizen’s anger and lack of interest as to proof that led to them trying the same tactic on Iraq. Think back was there any mention of proof that Afghanistan had anything to do with the bombings? There was far more circumstantial evidence that the Saudis were involved.

Truth is we don't now have very good control of the situation in Afghanistan. Soldiers die there too, though not as many as in Iraq. Outside of Kabul there is not much control of the political or security situation. The fact that we haven't turned up Bin Laden is demonstration of that.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

9. "Black Tulip" Milt Bearden......i loves ya wonk....thanks

:7 a must read...bearden CIA agent who under bush sr's orders trained osama bin forgotten in our CIA for 5 years...and is still on the payrolls along with saddam

[Wonk]

11. It's been posted many times before, but worth a repost now and again

to try and help educate the ignorant (I mean that in the best possible sense) amongst us.

edit: tpyo

[buddhamama]

10. not before 9/11 and not after

[Plaid Adder]

13. Me neither

Iraq is distracting us from our disaster in Afghanistan...now Bush wants to start some new disasters to distract us from Iraq...eventually the world will run out of places for us to destroy.

http://www.plaidder.com/oldnomore.htm

I started collecting material about the Afghan campaign before it began. It depressed the hell out of me but I updated it every day for a long time. After a year I slowed down and eventually I had to give up. Because by then the Iraq war had started, and we were just doing too much damage to keep track of.

Bombing the crap out of Afghanistan did nothing to make us safer and destroyed the lives of thousands of people. It was where we went wrong, after 9/11.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[FloridaPat]

12. I had serious reservations after 9-11. Still waiting to hear

the governments proof it was bin Ladin. Maybe Sadam took it with him.

[maggrwaggr]

14. When the Taliban blew up those Buddhist statues ...

that's when I realized it would be a good thing if somebody just went in there and took them out.

And it was a good idea for somebody to take them out.

They were an evil fucking bunch of people.

At the time, I had no idea what an evil fucking bunch of people our own administration was/is.

When Bush was selected, I thought "well, he's relatively harmless, we'll just muddle through the next four years and do it right next time".

So who's going to take out OUR evil leaders? The UN? Europe? Canada? I guess it's up to us, isn't it?

[terryg11]

15. is this a trick question?

most barely supported going in after 911

[TreasonousBastard]

18. I was quite aware of the Taliban...

and that they were a miserable, cretinous perversion of Islam causing nothing but trouble there.

However, catching bin Laden, or whoever did the deed, was a police matter, and there was no reason to destroy a country that had no direct link to the act. I was dead set against the invasion.

We brought death and destruction to a country where the people actually wished us well on our tragedy, and never accomplished our stated goal. Not only that, but the country is arguably in worse shape now, and the Taliban are reorganizing.

Curiously, shortly before 9/11, we were in various negotiations with the Taliban, even though we never recognized them as the lawful government, and we could have continued and possibly enlisted them to help find bin Laden.

[Speed8098]

20. I think I'll stick to the old adage

"Belive nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see."

[CoffeePlease1947]

21. The question doesn't make sense

Why would we invade Afghanistan if they never attacked us? This is like asking if we would support invading Germany if they never attacked other nations and killed Jews. :shrug:

Mike