"The Courage To Leave" by Bob Herbert

[sabrina 1]

The Courage To Leave

By BOB HERBERT
Published: June 11, 2010

There is no good news coming out of the depressing and endless war in Afghanistan. There once was merit to our incursion there, but that was long ago. Now we’re just going through the tragic motions, flailing at this and that, with no real strategy or decent end in sight.

The U.S. doesn’t win wars anymore. We just funnel the stressed and underpaid troops in and out of the combat zones, while all the while showering taxpayer billions on the contractors and giant corporations that view the horrors of war as a heaven-sent bonanza. BP, as we’ve been told repeatedly recently, is one of the largest suppliers of fuel to the wartime U.S. military.

Seven American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Monday but hardly anyone noticed. Far more concern is being expressed for the wildlife threatened by the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico than for the G.I.’s being blown up in the wilds of Afghanistan.

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From the comment section one of the best comments ever. It could be a winning platform for anyone running for Congress in the next election:

6.
Phil in the mountains of Kyushu
Japan
June 12th, 2010
12:45 am
As you mention several other points today, you invite comprehensive coherence. So here I humbly offer my list to correspond with your key points today:

1) Withdraw from Iraq – and Afghanistan, Okinawa, and Germany.

2) Cut off all military aid to Israel – and Egypt.

3) End the war on drugs.

4) Start jobs program for nationwide high-speed rail, and light-rail transit in hub cities.

5) Start jobs program for retro-fitting public buildings and homes for energy efficiency.

6) Allow no public monies for any standardized testing.

7) Extend Medicare to all.

8) Cut off all Industrial Ag’s subsidies in corn, soy, rice, and cotton.

9) Allow no biz schools at any public institutions of higher ed.

10) Allow no M.F.A. programs at any public institutions of higher ed.

11) Pay no ed administrator any higher than that of lowest-paid teacher.

12) Restore Glass-Steagall

13) Tax the rich as in the Eisenhower era (up to 91%).

14) Have Supreme Court justices wear on their robes the logos of those corporations with which they’re invested.

15) End the Fulbright program’s subservience to the specialization slots of corporate academe, and have it send Americans abroad in some larger coherent strategy for connections among peoples and cultures. (Hint: one such strategy is at www.EssayingDifferences.com .)

Recommend Recommended by 1082 Readers

[Xipe Totec]

1. To flee, or not to flee...

that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The roadside bombs of outraged Afghans
Or to haul ass out of this sea of troubles
And by dodging end them.

[pinboy3niner]

2. Deserves an LOL and kudos

Extra points for channeling Hamlet.:thumbsup:

[sabrina 1]

3. Lol

I agree with pinboy3niner, very funny and I like the last option.

We'll have to leave sooner or later and if we can't help the people there, maybe it's better to do as they ask, leave or start helping the democratic organizations which we never seem to have any interest in. And everyone knows, particularly the people there, why we are there.

[malaise]

5. Flee

DUzy

Good read Bob Herbert -Rec.

[The Wizard]

11. R +1

Hamlet would make these inquiries.

[JohnnyLib2]

4. Deja vu

:banghead:

[sabrina 1]

6. We never learn ~

Can't end it, what would all those contractors do? Unless we start another war maybe in South America as many observers are worried about, especially in that area of the world.

[lunatica]

7. What do we do about those nuclear weapons in Pakistan that

The Taliban and Al Qaeda are itching to get their hands on?

Nobody is naive enough to think they wouldn't use them on us.

[Jakes Progress]

9. They will get them when they want them.

We lived in fear of Russian nukes for decades. Fighting this war is not keeping them out of the hands of terrorists. That calls for sophisticated espionage, brokered deals, aid and assistance, and scientific advances.

[sabrina 1]

10. But how is our presence there, especially considering

the number of civilians who are dying from U.S. drone attacks, both in Afghanistan and now in Pakistan, going to solve that problem?

India has kept Pakistan under control regarding the use of their Nuclear weapons and vice versa, same way the U.S. and the Soviet Union prevented each other from using them.

Our wars are only increasing the resolve to go after the U.S. We don't need to be there bombing people. I thought this administration believed in diplomacy, which was never tried. We just invade countries for their oil or their access to oil we want and the whole world knows that, most of all the people of Afghanistan.

[lunatica]

17. The Taliban are not Pakistan. They are actually against the Pakistan government

From what I understand the Pakistani government has very little control and is weak throughout the country. There's a reason the drone attacks are happening there for the most part. Our side is trying to kill the rebel factions and the Taliban as much as Al Qaeda which has probably become much less effective because they've been decimated.

Don't get me wrong. I am anti war 100% and I'm one of the few who believed we should have never gone there in the first place, but I do worry about the nuclear weapons getting into the hands of the Taliban or any rebel faction. India won't be able to stop them either.

[sabrina 1]

18. Maybe the new Pakistani government does not get along with

the Taliban, but the old one did support them.

As far as the nukes they have, that has always been a concern. During the Clinton administration eg, Pakistan and India came to the brink of nuclear war three times. The conflict between them is over Kashmir. Clinton played a role in helping to prevent Pakistan from deploying its Nuclear Weapons in 1999 when they received information that it was about to happen. Through diplomatic means, Clinton was able to persuade the then Pakistani PM Shariff who was overthrown later by Musharif, to withdraw his army from the border. But the problem erupted again in 2002 and now it is complicated by this war in Afghanistan.

It's a volatile situation even without the Taliban or Al Queda who were probably the least of Pakistan's and India's concerns until this war was started by the U.S.

A nuclear war over there SHOULD have been the main concern of this government and was under the Clinton administration. It is still very possible as the issue of Kashmir remains unresolved.

I don't really know how possible it would be for the Taliban to get their hands on those weapons. But, we have only ourselves to blame if they do. Killing people solves nothing. We now have many, many more enemies in the region that before this war. And under Clinton we had some moral authority with the people there, but that appears to be gone as should be expected as so many people have been killed in this so-called 'war on terror' in Pakistan and while we like to say they were terrorists, they do not see it that way as over 700 civilians, men women and children have been killed by U.S. drone attacks. We are making enemies by being there.

[lunatica]

23. You're preaching to the choir and I agree

We're at fault. We always were, but having opened the door of hell we find ourselves in an impossible situation. I saw this coming the day after 9/11 because it was easy to see that the US, especially with warmongers in office would declare war since it's always more about profit than anything else.

We should extract ourselves from all countries we have military bases in.

Edit to add this thread about huge mineral deposits being found in Afghanistan. Now we'll never leave and this may explain why we haven't left.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8551745

[sabrina 1]

24. I saw that and wonder if that was one of the reasons we went

there as well as for the building of the pipeline. It certainly was never about terror. Like you right after 9/11 I had a feeling it would be used as an excuse to go to war. Didn't know much about politics at the time, but it seemed with Bush and Cheney in power war would be their first choice.

I read somewhere that the Russians had suspected that Afghanistan had valuable mineral deposits so it was probably not the surprise they are claiming.

I agree with you about bringing all the troops home and using our military for defense which it seems it has not been used in living memory. It is used merely as a tool to protect the interests of Global Corporations. And that is a crime.

[WatchWhatISay]

38. Makes you wonder when they were discovered and by whom

Don't know if it had anything to do with us going in, but I bet it will have everything to do with us not leaving, at least without mineral rights for our corporations.

[readmoreoften]

21. Oh grow up. You don't even know who the fuck the Taliban are.

Do you think Al Qaeda can take over the nation of Pakistan and launch intercontinental nukes they don't have at us? Are you smoking crack? Lay off the Fox News.

[lunatica]

22. That's an idiotic and ignorant statement

It's obviously easier to fling shit than to address the issues. Get over yourself. Your statement shows a shallow mind at work.

[closeupready]

29. Amen.

n/t

[closeupready]

28. Worry about Israeli nukes first.

Or even our own.

[lunatica]

33. Are you saying only Israeli nukes are worth worrying over

That's the stupidest thing I've heard today. But you have that right.

[closeupready]

36. Israel has done far more military projection outside its borders than Pakistan

for God's sake, pull your head out of your ass for one minute!

[lunatica]

37. LIke I said you have that right

The one to say ignorant and stupid things that is. Worry about the location of your own head.

[laughingliberal]

8. K & R nt

[Dystopian]

12. KandR.

peace~

[Stuart G]

13. K and R

[Orsino]

14. The leaving is the easy part.

The hard part is coming up with a reason to leave that doesn't make it clear that we should never have gone in.

Our government and MSM will go through endless contortions trying not to admit that the war was a stupid, cowardly, expensive and lethal waste of everything we claim to treasure.

[sabrina 1]

15. It was a massive mistake to begin with. But they counted on

fear after 9/11 to get support for their imperial wars. I don't know what made Obama think he could 'win' this one anymore than we can win any war as occupiers of other people's countries.

But we won't be leaving now. They just discovered huge amounts of minerals in Afghanistan so the vultures will be moving in and they will need the protections of the U.S. military.

[a la izquierda]

16. Fulbright...hah!

If you don't deal in money and the Middle East or Southeast, you're screwed. I study indigenism and multi-ethnic conflicts' impact on wider society, and don't get a sniff.

[Major Hogwash]

19. No exit strategy, no goal, no time table, no plan = Vietnam Redux

I'm so sick of hearing about Afghanistan, it isn't even funny.
If they would spend half of the time, energy, and money on us here at home, we wouldn't still be in this fucking recession.

But, then again, our wars weren't sponsored by Citibank, Halliburton, or Bank of America before 1950.

[G_j]

20. K&R

[awoke_in_2003]

25. "Good news" depends on perspective:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8551745

We will, unfortunately, be there for a long time

[sabrina 1]

27. I saw that and I'm sure it will be used as a reason to stay there.

But what business is it of ours if another country has resources? We act as if the world's resources belong to us. I hope people do not fall for the propaganda we will be hearing. And whose hands will this be in btw? The puppet government we established is corrupt and unpopular. What a mess to put it very mildly.

[awoke_in_2003]

30. corporations know no boundaries...

the will bribe the local warlords and use our army where they can. Cannot get in the way of profits, comrade :sarcasm:

[sabrina 1]

31. I know. We have a real need for a strong

leader to emerge right now, but so far, there doesn't seem to be anyone available ... :cry:

[awoke_in_2003]

34. the game is rigged...

the only people who can run for office are the ones our corporations have already vetted- getting elected takes too much money. Hell, i can't figure out how Kucinich or Sanders made it into office, but I suppose they let a few slip through so they can be marginalized and ridiculed by the media. Someone with JFK's money, leadership, and charisma could make it, but having all three of those things is very rare.

[bread_and_roses]

26. There was never any merit to this operation from Day 1

many of us protested it at the time.

[pundaint]

32. I'll take your 15 and add:

16. Repeal NAFTA

17. Set aggressive tariffs to support American manufacturing jobs.

18. Rebuild the public infrastructure in general.

If only there were a Party that advocated something sane like this. Do you think it would be so hard to get support for these actions?

[Blue_Tires]

35. in full agreement, but i don't understand the rationale behind #9-10?

[bobbolink]

39. "Far more concern is being expressed for the wildlife threatened by the oil gushing into the Gulf of

than for the G.I.’s being blown up in the wilds of Afghanistan."

Amen.

In the end, animals will always get more concern in this nation than the people who are suffering.

And when we complain about the screwed up priorities, then we are accused of being animal haters.

Hopeless.

Just hopeless.

[ironrooster]

40. I for one don't think that this is particularly brilliant -

An M.F.A is a Master of Fine Art - and encompasses art, music and many creative writing courses. Which drugs are you going to end the "war" on - just pot or all of them? Oh yes, and busines Schools are all evil. If you pay ed admins no higher than the lowest paid teacher you won't have any admins. This is just
bloviating - sounds like a teabagger in reverse.

[sabrina 1]

41. Well, I think it is a little bit hyperbolic

but the sentiment is good. I don't agree with all of his points, but most of them are pretty good.

[Blue_Tires]

42. ttt