What happened to Al Queda in Afghanistan? Why are we fighting the Taliban?

[peggygirl]

Finally heard a woman on the Diane Rehm show ask the question I have been asking since Obama took office. Did we defeat Al quaeda in Afghanistan? If we did, bring our troops home and leave the country to their own people. But then, bringing home the troops would swell the unemployment ranks, wouldn't it? and many jobs would be loss if we couldn't build more weapons. Sigh......

[Arctic Dave]

1. Thats because they are all in Pakistan and Yemen now. Duh.

Don't think that will stop us from bombing the shit out of the place before we leave though.

[timeforpeace]

2. Gotta fight somebody. Taliban is handy so...

[jonnyblitz]

3. i think many here believe the taliban and al qaeda are the same

thing.

[democraticinsurgent]

4. yes

and not so distant cousins of the CIA.

[Go2Peace]

9. Duh - There is a fight between us and Russia for an Oil pipeline through Afganistan

It just so happens that the Northern region that they were having trouble with securing just happens to be where we started our escalation....

If you read the history that is what Afganistan has been about clear back to when Russia was fighting there. And that was why the Taliban were our allies. They became our enemies when they fought the initial pipeline plan.


Here is an article about the situation from The Nation, which is a very liberal magazine:

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/335023

[peoli]

5. because they blow people up for fun.

[paulk]

7. there are plenty of places where that goes on

would you suggest we go to war in those places also?

seriously - what is your criterion for US military involvement in another nation?

and what form should that "involvement" take?

Are regime change and the subsequent nation building the best approach to combat transnational terrorism?

[Phx_Dem]

12. The other place didn't provide a haven for Al Queda while they were

plotting their attack on America and afterwards. Attacking America has serious consequences and the Taliban needs to go or they'll be back to doing exactly what they were doing before.

The Taliban is a terrorist group that had taken over Afganistan and gave safe haven to Al Quaeda, and now they're trying to do likewise with Pakistan, which is a nuclear nation. I'm sure alot of progressives would love for us to throw our hands up and say, 'whatever,' but that's not going to happen.

[paulk]

17. I guess we need to go after Saudi Arabia, then

Look, I don't necessarily think that what we're doing in Afghanistan is the wrong thing, although simple knee jerk arguments like yours don't do much to move the conversation. And the fact is - we're not having the conversation, as a nation, that we need to have concerning terrorism. And I think Obama is at fault here. The real questions that need to be asked, aren't being asked - like - is regime change and the subsequent nation building a good use of our resources in combating transnational terrorism?

I'm beginning to think it isn't, especially when our own country's infrastructure is falling apart and there are better ways to deal with these situations than sending in the troops. Sending in the troops just seems to me a way of appeasing the military/industrial complex rather than dealing realistically with terrorism. Combating transnational terrorism should be more of a police/diplomatic action - but taking on the military/industrial complex would take some real political courage, something that Obama has shown little enthusiasm for...

[asdjrocky]

14. That is a really dumb statement.

[msongs]

6. because that's what the military welfare complex does as justification for its obscene budgets nt

[tekisui]

8. Al Qeada is bankrupt and is no longer a cohesive organization

Splinters, second generation and factions have popped up around the world, including the US and Europe. There is no AQ organization with commanding leadership left to target.

The Taliban are easy targets. In exactly the same way that Saddam in Iraq was an easier target than AQ and OBL. We can tout the success of getting Taliban leaders. We heard 7 or 15 top Taliban have been arrested recently. All that is missing is the deck of cards with their pictures.

[Sebastian Doyle]

10. Because the Taliban signed a contract with UNOCAL to build a pipeline in 1997

And they failed to deliver. They also shut down Poppy Bush's friends in the opium business. Oddly enough the smack traders are doing better than ever since the invasion. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. :eyes:

[branders seine]

11. Obama wanted to escalate there,

so we have to fight someone. The women and intellectuals already have had the shit kicked out of them. That leaves the Taliban.

The real war is in Pakistan. Everything in Afghanistan is just jerking off for the cameras.

[Jakes Progress]

13. Hey, gotta fight somebody. There's money in war.

Not to mention that they Taliban might stand in the way of the oil line cheney wants.

Democrats: doing the work republicans started.

[Dr.Phool]

15. He changed his name to Al Queda in Iraq.

When that didn't work, he changed it to Al Franken in Minnesota!

:rofl:

Just kidding.

[zulchzulu]

16. I'm disappointed in the absolute ignorance on this insanely stupid war

Granted, according to Obama, we will be getting out of there (for the most part) in 2011. He inherited this nonsense of a war and he has to deal with the reality of getting out of there.

What has been disappointing is how some of the AAR and other Left Radio people have been cheerleading this nonsense.

Karzai is not going to change. The Afghanistan narco-kleptocracy is not going to change. Sending wheat to farmers in Marzai and elsewhere are going to be just as much a failure as the same projects were in 2004-2006. The poppy fields will grow back again. Why? Because you can't grow shit that needs a lot of water in a desert!

It's a waste. Al Qaeda is a minimal threat if at all and the only way they will get stronger is if WE OCCUPY AFGHANISTAN! Talk about stupid!

We are fighting the Taliban... who has support from Karzai...who is supposedly on our "side"... a recipe for utter disaster...