[DoughtyOne]

"...I believe that we cannot stabilize Afghanistan purely through military means."

Thanks for the comments.

Did we defeat Germany by asking them to join a coaltion goverment? How about Japan?

[Alia]

Question #1: Was Germany a military?

Question #2: Is AQ a military?

Yours are good questions, no doubt. AQ/Taliban HAS no country. These groups squat inside other countries, and in the homes of innocents -- and defeat these countries from the citizenry up. There is no real *there* there in these countries to ascribe a German or Japan "victory".

Afghanistan and Iraq have come a long ways in declaring their OWN VICTORY of their OWN COUNTRIES WITH THE HELP OF COALITION FORCES. Now, the US/Coalition along with Iraqis, Afghanis, and Pakistani's are talking about what to do with a nomadic group of people waging war against just about everyone.

I don't think this is at all similar to war with Germany or Japan.

The point is, neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan nor Iraq will give up LAND in order for the warring Taliban/AQ to declare as their own. These countries have seen too much of what has gone on with the Mid-East (Israel, Palestine, etc.).

Instead they are suggesting that they too can live in the country of their choice (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq) but they MUST obey the laws laid down by the official government of these countries.

This is not a lose-lose proposition, whatsoever, IMHO. This has the smell of victory, to me, on multiple levels. If AQ/Taliban member go back to a killing spree, they will be prosecuted under the laws of the country they are resident in, and by the military/police forces, law of that land. Sounds like a republican democracy to me. And this is Victory in a war very different from Germany and Japan.

[pleikumud]

And if we had dropped just one nuke on Hanoi, 58,000 American lives would have been saved, plus hundreds of thousands wounded, and we would have captured the hearts, minds, and genitals of all Vietnamese.

Nevertheless, it is pretty clear that once again the press distorted what was actually said. No media outlet can be trusted. Journalists have zero credibility - it doesn't matter which company they work for.

[Pikachu_Dad]

Did we defeat Germany by asking them to join a coaltion goverment? How about Japan? No, first we defeated them militarily. Then we created a government - and asked them to join us in making a government. Then we STAYED there forever.

[Captain Kirk]

Did we defeat Germany by asking them to join a coaltion goverment? How about Japan?

Well.....we kept the emperor who was portrayed as the root of all evil during the war.