Joined
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4,678 Posts
In or out? What do YOU think we should do NOW?
Here's my take:
The Taliban and AQ are two different things but both pose a similar problem for us. The Taliban is protected in Pakistan and as soon as we leave Afghanistan the Taliban will rush in and take over, if they aren't beat down by local war lords. So making Afghanistan a free and stable place that is not home to the Taliban is pointless. Either way the Taliban is not going away. Our being in Afghanistan is not going to change the AQ situation either. AQ can train anywhere, especially in Pakistan where they are protected by sympathizers in the Pakistani military and government, but several other countries too. So we can't end the Taliban wish to take back Afghanistan and we can't keep AQ from training. What the F are we doing then? We are just going through the motions, with unrealistic expectations about the outcome. All the while it is costing us some very good people and many billions of dollars. I'll bet my manhood those things could be better used elsewhere. I don't care what strategy Patreus/Obama come up with. Afghanistan is a tribal land of never-ending poverty and corruption. It has way less potential than even Iraq, and Iraq is still a mess.
There is also a chance that the Taliban won't be so accommodating to AQ. After AQ brought the wrath of the U.S. military down on them in 2001 it is conceivable that the Taliban won't allow Afghanistan to be a base of operations in the future. The Taliban may have learned something about associating with international terrorists. Whatever the case, we'd be watching that country like a hawk after leaving. With continually improving drones and a now-established spy network inside Afghanistan I don't think what happened pre-9/11 has a good chance of recurring. In fact, it probably has a better chance of occuring outside Afghanistan.
So I'd say get out of both countries and see what happens. There's a good chance our departure will take the wind out of AQ sails anyway as public opinion there softens on us and hardens on them. It may be our most effective strategy and certainly our least costly.
Stay in, get out?
Here's my take:
The Taliban and AQ are two different things but both pose a similar problem for us. The Taliban is protected in Pakistan and as soon as we leave Afghanistan the Taliban will rush in and take over, if they aren't beat down by local war lords. So making Afghanistan a free and stable place that is not home to the Taliban is pointless. Either way the Taliban is not going away. Our being in Afghanistan is not going to change the AQ situation either. AQ can train anywhere, especially in Pakistan where they are protected by sympathizers in the Pakistani military and government, but several other countries too. So we can't end the Taliban wish to take back Afghanistan and we can't keep AQ from training. What the F are we doing then? We are just going through the motions, with unrealistic expectations about the outcome. All the while it is costing us some very good people and many billions of dollars. I'll bet my manhood those things could be better used elsewhere. I don't care what strategy Patreus/Obama come up with. Afghanistan is a tribal land of never-ending poverty and corruption. It has way less potential than even Iraq, and Iraq is still a mess.
There is also a chance that the Taliban won't be so accommodating to AQ. After AQ brought the wrath of the U.S. military down on them in 2001 it is conceivable that the Taliban won't allow Afghanistan to be a base of operations in the future. The Taliban may have learned something about associating with international terrorists. Whatever the case, we'd be watching that country like a hawk after leaving. With continually improving drones and a now-established spy network inside Afghanistan I don't think what happened pre-9/11 has a good chance of recurring. In fact, it probably has a better chance of occuring outside Afghanistan.
So I'd say get out of both countries and see what happens. There's a good chance our departure will take the wind out of AQ sails anyway as public opinion there softens on us and hardens on them. It may be our most effective strategy and certainly our least costly.
Stay in, get out?
