Monday, June 21, 2010
Dumb, Stoned, and AWOL is No Way to go Through Life, Son
Some sobering statistics here, folks. 1) According to the U.S Defense Department/Inspector General for Reconstruction in Afghanistan, one in every four Afghan combat soldiers QUIT the Afghan National Army (why in the hell am I still using capitals here?) during the year ending September, 2009. 2) According to the State Department, upwards of 40% of the Afghan army and police department are currently abusing drugs. Couple these facts, folks, with the 90% illiteracy rate and rampant corruption and, really, who in the hell are we fighting for again?....................................................................................................P.S. I still maintain that our often maligned/frequently hapless Vice President, Mr. Biden (along with, ironically, conservative columnist, George Will) had it 100% correct; a counter-terrorism (as opposed to a counter-insurgency) strategy that mangles the bad guys and, yes, leaves the vast bulk of that nation-building stuff to the nations. Too bad that Mr. Obama didn't listen to him, huh?
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5 comments:
At one time I thought Karzi might actually be worth a shit so I supported the war in Afghanistan. While I believe the US military could still eventually defeat the Taliban without a function society any victory would be hollow and short lived.
I have yet to see any evidence of a society beyond the anicent tradition of warlords. So I say get the fuck out and leave that bastard Karzi to whomever can kill him. Leave word with the people that we will not bother you ever again as long as you do not allow your cesspool to become a staging ground again.
Tell them if you do we will turn your country into molten glass. Yes, I'm a real warm and fuzzy liberal who wishes like Hell everyone would get along but barring that nuke the bunch and let God figure the rest out.
Once upon a time...
Double b, you sound a little frustrated with our "policy" over there. LOL Seriously, though, I initially supported the war over there, too. But, yeah, that was then. Times and circumstances have clearly changed. Like I uttered before, Obama should have listened to his VP......Thanks for the link, Volt. I'll definitely check it out.
I had a chance to read some of Voltron's link and feel even more frustrated. A quick scan suggests that Afghanistan's promising 20th century future was destroyed when it got caught up the Cold War and resulting chaos after the Soviets pulled out and the radical clerics asserted themselves.
The thing is, guys, if it was only Kabul, we might actually have a chance. But in those mountainous/outlying regions, it's basically overrun by warlords, drug dealers, bands of thieves, etc.. I'm not totally sure how we could ever tame it - short of a 10-20 year commitment, that is.
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