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Our goal there, boxcar, is to get the Afghan forces to a level of proficiency to where they can defend themselves and keep Taliban elements from retaking the country when we leave.
But that is not realistic, nor was it originally why we went in.
They had to give up UBL or we would attack. They refused, we attacked. Then we drove out the Taliban. Now we are trying to make it sustainable, etc.
A bridge too far. We got who we came for, we never signed up to make sure they would become a flourishing liberal democracy. We will never have more influence than Pakistan there.
what are you talking about Libya is a diffrent war than afghanistan you see enforcing a no fly zone but not having ground troops means we need to use air strikes and the rebels in Libya are doing fighting on the ground..
Ohhhhhh - OK - it's different now.
Air strikes are air strikes - what's the difference to the people on the ground?
But that is not realistic, nor was it originally why we went in.
They had to give up UBL or we would attack. They refused, we attacked. Then we drove out the Taliban. Now we are trying to make it sustainable, etc.
A bridge too far. We got who we came for, we never signed up to make sure they would become a flourishing liberal democracy. We will never have more influence than Pakistan there.
Boxcar, believe me, I understand your greivances. Afghanistan is just so muddled. You're right. The war should have been limited in scope and focused on killing Osama and disbanding Al Qaeda. However, if you recall, months into it, the Bushies decided to "liberate" the Afghans and create a liberal democracy -- a loony, wingbat moonbeam idea that no serious person who understood Afghanistan and the situation there ever thought was possible.
I think we're off that now. Now, we're just trying to get it to be "Aghani ok" -- meaning give the Afghans a fighting chance against lettting the Taliban overtake their country.
Boxcar, believe me, I understand your greivances. Afghanistan is just so muddled. You're right. The war should have been limited in scope and focused on killing Osama and disbanding Al Qaeda. However, if you recall, months into it, the Bushies decided to "liberate" the Afghans and create a liberal democracy -- a loony, wingbat moonbeam idea that no serious person who understood Afghanistan and the situation there ever thought was possible.
I think we're off that now. Now, we're just trying to get it to be "Aghani ok" -- meaning give the Afghans a fighting chance against lettting the Taliban overtake their country.
The great irony? We are spending so much treasure and lives to keep the radical islamist from taking over Afghanistan, while we are practically encouraging them to take over the rest of the middle east.
If we don't mind radical islamist running Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, etc., then why are we putting up such a fight in Afghanistan?
If you care about facts, you might appreciate that Obama has actually stepped up fighting in Afghanistan. That's why there are more casualties.
If you remember 2001, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan because they harbored al Qaeda, who attacked us. Bush quickly shifted resources from Afghanistan to fight the unneeded Iraq War. Obama put the emphasis, rightly, back to Afghanistan. There were more drone attacks in Obama's first year against al Qaeda than in all of Bush's term.
No serious person can conclude that Obama doesn't care about Afghanistan.
He better care about Afghanistan since he proclaimed it his war during the days after the election. There aren't that many more troops there than before he did his little "Surge" but so many of them are getting killed. My former foster daughter, a MSG in the National Guard, recently returned from a year in Afghanistan and she said it is some of the silly rules that have been established under Obama as to warfare that are causing the most trouble, but then what does she know?
Ya know how Ronnie Reagan supposedly got in a spending war with the Russians on a military buildup, and the Russians couldn't compete so they went broke?
A Russian at RT said we are doing the same thing again... this time to ourselves. We are doing to ourselves what we did to the Russians, building a military so big we can't possible afford it.
But that is not realistic, nor was it originally why we went in.
They had to give up UBL or we would attack. They refused, we attacked. Then we drove out the Taliban. Now we are trying to make it sustainable, etc.
A bridge too far. We got who we came for, we never signed up to make sure they would become a flourishing liberal democracy. We will never have more influence than Pakistan there.
But, it seems to me, that our President wants to create one of those Muslim controlled democracies with something other than Afghans in charge. Does that sound like I am talking about Muslims? Well, yes dammit that is what I am talking about. National building.
But, it seems to me, that our President wants to create one of those Muslim controlled democracies with something other than Afghans in charge. Does that sound like I am talking about Muslims? Well, yes dammit that is what I am talking about. National building.
I don't know why were are losing lives keeping the radicals out of Afghanistan when at the same time we are encouraging them to take control of Egypt, Syria, Libya, and other nations in that region.
If it's not important to keep the radicals out of those countries, why do we care if they run Afghanistan?
I don't know why were are losing lives keeping the radicals out of Afghanistan when at the same time we are encouraging them to take control of Egypt, Syria, Libya, and other nations in that region.
If it's not important to keep the radicals out of those countries, why do we care if they run Afghanistan?
I think much of that has to do with the selection of Afghanistan as his war by Obama. He was so sure it would be easy and not take many men and he wanted something like that on his resume.
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