A Pissing/Shooting Contest

Have you noticed, folks, how both of these major party Presidential candidates have been trying to out-do each other on Afghanistan; which of them more desperately wants a troop-surge there, etc.? And have you noticed, to, how uncritically the public/media have been lapping this stuff up, accepting the premise of these two guys almost as if it was a frigging axiom?........................................I mean, sure, maybe it's possible that more troops in that country will help to stabilize it/cut down on the drug production/take down the resurging Taliban/etc.. But, really, haven't we learned that, by fighting this "war on terror" predominantly via the military option, other drawbacks are as well created; a recruiting tool for terrorists, us being seen as imperialists, a spiraling of insurgency and counter-insurgency. What, we think that the Afghan people are going to be less p.o.d than the Iraqis were at being occupied?.......................................And the timing of it, too. Just because this might have been a good idea 5-6 years ago, doesn't necessarily mean that it currently is. Look, I don't know. I'm just saying that maybe we ought to toss this around for a while first. Perhaps we can come up with a better idea - or not. Just a suggestion.