tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post2303968381262753938..comments2024-03-23T19:16:01.555-07:00Comments on Can it happen here?: Afghanistan: what's the exit strategy?janinsanfranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-82310428696078176692009-05-30T16:28:27.583-07:002009-05-30T16:28:27.583-07:00BTW, have you seen Small Wars Journal? I find it ...BTW, have you seen Small Wars Journal? I find it an excellent occasional insight into some necessary critical thinking as we DO seem to be involved.<br /><br />Don't know html so you will have to copy/paste if interested:<br /><br />http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2009/05/weekend-reading-and-listening/Mr. Naturalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09570665867798768948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-38683386514172419282009-05-30T16:10:02.679-07:002009-05-30T16:10:02.679-07:00Darlene and Dajenya, I agree that this is an excel...Darlene and Dajenya, I agree that this is an excellent post. Your comments are excellent comments. If we are to BE in Afgh/Pak, we need to HEAR our reasons. We need to SEE our reasons in writing. We do not need to hear a lot of babble about terrorists and making the place safe for "democracy". If our goal is to kill Taliban, then let us get on with it and kill the motherf**kers. We have excellent killing machines and people. We do NOT need to kill more civillians and poor people. We have still not taken account of the numbers of innocents slaughtered in Iraq by our "smart" bombs and other means and machines. I worked toward Obama's election too. Frankly, I am terribly disappointed in him.<br /><br />Gates is a horrible person right out of the Central America horrors, and should NEVER have been given ANY job in a thoughtful administration.<br /><br />Sorry...I get sad/angry and carry on...Mr. Naturalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09570665867798768948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-66015518394903178532009-05-30T15:43:43.703-07:002009-05-30T15:43:43.703-07:00You have it right. This is an un-winnable war wit...You have it right. This is an un-winnable war with no real strategy. <br /><br />Two things do bother me, though. The weak Pakistan government having nuclear weapons that the fanatic Taliban will end up with unless we are able to contain them. (The Taliban, not the weapons.) If we leave what will happen to those weapons? <br /><br />The other thing that bothers me is the cruel way the Taliban treats women. This may not be our problem, but it is a humanitarian one.Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18373134676852496647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-88223084021803908362009-05-30T02:37:27.962-07:002009-05-30T02:37:27.962-07:00Now that I have finished celebrating the election ...Now that I have finished celebrating the election of Obama, I must say that I am very concerned that his election has led to a fair amount of complacency in the anti-war movement. Sure, Obama plans to get us out of Iraq (after a year or two...), and meanwhile he plans to escalate the war in Afghanistan. Even if you are not a pacifist, even if you believe some wars are either justified or necessary, or might do more good than harm, this war falls into none of those 3 categories. <br /><br />Even articles in Time magazine (hardly a progressive media) state that war in Afghanistan is un-win-able (as it was for every invader from Alexander the Great to the USSR). Afghanistan is more a collection of tribes than a united nation, and the land/topography as well as the cultural conditions are such that "victory" is not possible. So what will be accomplished? Many thousands of deaths of US soldiers and Afghani citizens, and a continuation of the huge waste of money that is so sorely needed here at home. Just so Obama can prove that he is neither "weak" nor a leftist? <br /><br />I offer my prior article as my pro-Obama credentials. However, regarding his stance on Afghanistan, it is past-due time for the US anti-war movement to organize and resist the escalation of this newest "Vietnam." Rather than tip-toe on eggshells to avoid conflict with our beloved Obama, I hope that all those who, like myself, supported Obama's campaign with words, money and action, will now feel responsible to send a message to our friend Obama that war is not the answer; certainly not this war! <br /><br />Obama may be the closest thing to Roosevelt in our lifetime. But there is no president then, now, or ever, who does not need to hear the loud and clear voice(s) of concerned citizens when he takes our money, our children, our conscience, our international reputation to war. Unlike the slow quiet involvement in Vietnam, the escalation of this war is public and publicized. What are we waiting for?Dajenyanoreply@blogger.com