Granite State Views on Afghanistan Rapidly Darken

While I appreciated the process (0.00 / 0)

that the president used to arrive at a policy decision, I am and have been opposed to his Afghanistan policy.  We have a installed and supported a most corrupt regime, turned a blind eye to drug cartels, and have lost far too many lives in a conflict that is both not winnable and has no end in sight.

It is a hopeful sign that Patreaus is now in charge.  Not because I think that the general is Superman and can single-handedly win the war.  But because he, like Obama, is a political animal and will pursue a unified Afghanistan agenda that leads to exit.  How long that takes is anybody's guess at this point, but the shift in policy to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table could be the first step in that process.

I also believe that the president simply does not believe in this war.  The sad conclusion that I draw is that his advisors have convinced him that a withdrawal from Afghanistan will allow his political opponents to portray him as weak and indecisive to the American public.  

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

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by: StraffordDem @ Wed Aug 04, 2010 at 09:00:21 AM CDT

"I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it." - FDR (0.00 / 0)

Af/Pak is a tightrope.

The whole region is precariously balanced. My trust in this Admin is countered by a general cynicism, aggravated by the economy associated to the U.S. projection of power.

You wanna talk "too big to fail," try isolationism for awhile.

That said, the answer is groundswell.

Get in their faces. Don't let them use decorum against us. Be polite, but be resolved and pointed. When you see your pal that commutes to D.C. regularly, bug them about it. Make them sweat.

The equation is simple. If they can count on you, they got what they need and they go about their business with the special interests that infect the Beltway.

If you are a 1, you are a ZERO; except for the 2 months leading up to the election.

www.KusterforCongress.com - www.paulhodesforsenate.com

www.nikitsongas.com - www.devalpatrick.com

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Wed Aug 04, 2010 at 09:08:06 AM CDT

global military imperialism (0.00 / 0)

We created the Taliban, when we armed and trained the mujahideen.

We will not bully and kill our way into success in Afghanistan. The only way to turn the tide is to help them rebuild and join the 21st century. Democracy cannot be administered at gunpoint.

Our #1 export is weapons. This is important, because we must arm those who will turn those weapons against us in 30 years or so in order to perpetuate the constant state of war we require to justify our obscene military spending.

member of the professional left  

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by: susanthe @ Wed Aug 04, 2010 at 10:12:32 AM CDT

You started with a legitimate point about our involvement in the 80s, (4.00 / 1)

And then undermined it with a quasi-conspiracy theory that this is not just cyclical, but planned.

Some people think the stock market has an omnipotent, perpetuating, invisible hand, and some people think the military-industrial complex has an omnipotent, perpetuating, invisible hand. Neither of those fantasies is helpful.

We can't solve major problems with our society if we refuse to acknowledge the human factors and the fact that these things are the result not of Intelligent Design, but of millions of people living their lives and doing their jobs--some with bigger offices and salaries than others. Changing the system requires seeing a system, not a hive mind.

I say this not to pick a fight with you, Susan, but to make a point: saying things that sound ridiculous undermines and marginalizes both the anti-war movement and the DoD budget-trimming movement.

There's nothing we can win in Afghanistan and no Soviet Union to fight with our F-22s.  That's a winning argument; the idea that Washington consciously props up future enemies in order to justify the size of the defense industry is not.

--
"Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past; you must fight just to keep them alive!"

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Wed Aug 04, 2010 at 11:47:17 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

thank you for (4.00 / 1)

not trying to pick a fight with me Douglas. Telling me that my opinions are ridiculous and undermining is quite charming. Fortunately I've had years to become accustomed to receiving this kind of condescending valentine from you.

History would seem to prove you wrong, Douglas. Every time we interfere with other countries, every time we arm and train fringe groups we are sorry for it later - because it almost always comes back to being a war that involves us. It's not an accident that the School of the Americas trains terrorists and future dictators.

Saddam was our creature. We trained him in CIA camps and gave him weapons. The biological weapons he used on the Kurds came from us - back in the 80's. Less than 30 years later, we've spent over a trillion dollars destroying the Iraqi infrastructure and killing civilians.

That you think it is some kind of "human factor" is naive at best. We're bombing 5 countries right now. We aren't bombing them by accident - it's part of a non-intelligent design - the design of US military imperialist  hegemony. We have 1400 or so military bases. If you don't see a plan and a system in there, it's because you are covering your eyes and ears and saying neener neener.

The US is on the way to becoming a second rate power if we continue down this path. Instead of staying stuck in the military mindset that's led us into this mess, we need people who are willing to think outside of the old school military dominance paradigm.


member of the professional left  

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by: susanthe @ Wed Aug 04, 2010 at 13:33:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

As civil as ever. (4.00 / 1)

Much as I enjoyed that mix of tangential information and still-unsubstantiated theories, my argument stands.

Your assertion that I am a naive, condescending, and willfully ignorant person does not refute my assertion that the words you are typing form unreasonable ideas whose contention harms your argument and our shared goals.

--
"Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past; you must fight just to keep them alive!"

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Wed Aug 04, 2010 at 14:13:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]