The Afghan Quagmire

[slipslidingaway]

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/thatseemsfair/nyt001.html

"The economy is obviously issue No. 1 as Barack Obama prepares to take over the presidency. He’s charged with no less a task than pulling the country out of a brutal recession. If the worst-case scenarios materialize, his job will be to stave off a depression.

That’s enough to keep any president pretty well occupied. What Mr. Obama doesn’t need, and what the U.S. cannot under any circumstances afford, is any more unnecessary warfare. And yet, while we haven’t even figured out how to extricate ourselves from the disaster in Iraq, Mr. Obama is planning to commit thousands of additional American troops to the war in Afghanistan, which is already more than seven years old and which long ago turned into a quagmire...


What’s the upside to the U.S., a nation in dire economic distress, of an escalation in Afghanistan? If we send 20,000, or 30,000, or however many thousand more troops in there, what will their mission be?

In his article for Newsweek, Mr. Bacevich said: “The chief effect of military operations in Afghanistan so far has been to push radical Islamists across the Pakistani border. As a result, efforts to stabilize Afghanistan are contributing to the destabilization of Pakistan, with potentially devastating implications.

“No country poses a greater potential threat to U.S. national security — today and for the foreseeable future — than Pakistan. To risk the stability of that nuclear-armed state in the vain hope of salvaging Afghanistan would be a terrible mistake.”..."

[elocs]

1. I hope that Obama does not get sucked into a war with no exit plan,

or is too stubborn to admit it is a lost cause. If the Afghani people are unwilling to fight for their own country, then how is it our obligation? Afghanistan is a country were superpowers go to eventually be brought to their knees.

[slipslidingaway]

2. Me too, not sure what the goal or exact plans are, just that we

need more money and troops for Afghanistan.

[ConsAreLiars]

3. The Afghan people have always been willing to fight for their own independence

from foreign intruders. They are doing so now, and will continue until the US invaders are expelled. I, too, hope (but doubt) Obama gets at least half a clue and admits that the future of Afghanistan is their decision to make, not the choice of invaders. Afghanistan, before Brzezinski's advice to Carter to import religious crazies, from Saudi Arabia and Yemen and such, and turn it into a killing field, kill a million or two, destroy the infrastructure and send 3X that number fleeing to refugee camps, was peaceful, tolerant and welcomed foreigners, even us unbelievers, as guests.

See this calendar cover from 1977 - not 100% true, but closer than 100% of your TV ads.



Thanks to Luke Powell for the scans - See http://www.lukepowell.com/ for 30 years of photos of what Afghanistan is really like.

[slipslidingaway]

4. I remember the pictures and your description of your visit to

Afghanistan, it was a different world back then.

[ConsAreLiars]

5. I try to help people understand Afghanistan and not merely acknowledge the the Afghan people are

no less human than any of us, but to maybe even see them as better in some ways. Worse, or for sure worse off, in other ways. But they had an intact, sustainable, and slowly changing way of life, and they were not monsters. Since very few have had the great privilege of my person-to-person encounters, I have tried to share them. Most of my journal is about Afghanistan for that reason. You are one of many who "get it" without the personal narratives, but I hope a few more "get it" though the few words I type and the photos by Luke Powell.

(edit a word)

[slipslidingaway]

7. Thanks ConsAreLiars, hopefully the internet will help a little...

that being said we should respect and treat all human life in a fair manner.

[amborin]

6. The Nation had good article on this a while back; it's a quagmire and will do no good

[slipslidingaway]

8. I did not read that article, but the fact that we need to surge into

Afghanistan is already accepted by many.