Posted on 01/21/2013 4:47:34 PM PST by neverdem
Going to Afghanistan after 9/11 was a necessity; staying there in force was a mistake — and dragging out our failure is a travesty.
We invaded to smash al Qaeda and punish the Taliban for hosting them. Mission accomplished. Within six months. The correct military action would have been to remove our conventional-force presence while the jihadi bodies were still warm.
Instead, ideologues safe at home declared that we had to nation-build where there was no nation. Or “we’d have to go back.”
Going back would have been an eff of a lot cheaper.
And while we tied our forces down to worthless Afghan real estate, al Qaeda just went elsewhere. (Rule No. 1: When fighting a mobile enemy, stay mobile.)
Then we politicized our commitment. Hating George W. Bush with the bigotry only a simpering faculty can muster, American liberals damned the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. No matter that, had Bill Clinton done the deed, they’d have heralded him as the greatest liberator since Abraham Lincoln.
But impending elections required the left to play up national security. So the fool’s errand in Afghanistan — turning savages into apprentice Americans — became their “good war” by default.
Running for office, Barack Obama promised to “fix Afghanistan” after Bush’s “neglect.” Elected, Obama found himself trapped in a commitment that looked like a loser, but one he had to appear to honor. So we got a surge that was on the meter before it began.
As military strategy, it was nuts. Politically, it split the difference brilliantly.
And our troops continued to be killed and maimed (1,793 killed in action and almost 18,000 wounded in action to date) for a mission the new president didn’t believe in.
Ironically, his surge was backed by an unholy clot of conservative think-tank wonks...
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I’m forced to agree with Peters. F nation-building. Just kill ‘em all, salt the ground and leave.
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As a military operation GW Bush failed. We didn’t crush the Taliban. They were allowed to fade into Pakistan. Bush was a bumbler and a not conservative.
As I’ve been saying for a good while now, we should have left Afghanistan after the punitive expedition phase, and before the meals on wheels phase. So end of 2001 or first half of 2002 time frame.
NOOOOO!!!! Their heroin is the BEST!!!!!........................................ Yeah, but, its their Oil, Copper and Lithium which is the bigger attraction. As usual, just follow the $$$, and you’ll find political connections to it.
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for the ping!
Our wounded and damaged soldiers will cause a marked increase in demands for VA medical assistance.
Then, sequestration will severely cut the military standing forces, and the next large demand will be for Veterans home loans at a very low rate—with the demand for money to be fast & very large!!!
Good article by Peters, but the anti-guy [Obama] is a POS stammering socialist backed by coalitions of collectivists and propagandists plundering the republic.
Thanks for the ping, neverdem.
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