'Today': Due To Iraq Diversion, Afghanistan's Gone 'So Wrong'

The Today Show | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Just in time for the November elections, a new MSM theme is emerging: Iraq's not the only mess - Afghanistan's in trouble too. Just a couple days I described the way the Pentagon had systematically rebutted Newsweek hyper-negative portrayal of the situation in Afghanistan in its article "The Rise of Jihadistan."

One of Newsweek's "news partners" just happens to be NBC, and sure enough, NBC's 'Today' show ran a segment this morning recycling many of the charges contained in the Newsweek piece. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda were depicted as resurgent, with violence up, the opium trade flourishing, and President Karzai's influence largely limited to Kabul.

But note the potentially deceptive way the situation was presented. Narrating the segment, NBC's Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski said that "suicide bombings targeting civilians are up 400%, car bombs doubled in the past year." Perhaps. But from what base? Have suicide bombings gone from 100 a year to 500 - or from 5 to 25? Jim didn't say.

In any case, Mik was quick to paint the grimmest possible portrait . . . and to tie it to the Bush administration's Iraq policy:

Miklaszewski: "Just where and how did things go so wrong? Military experts argue that the Bush administration diverted much-needed troops and resources from Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden to fight the war in Iraq."

Mik then brought in Michael O'Hanlon - a fellow of the Brookings Institution and faculty member at Princeton and Columbia - to second his notion: "The kind of effort that might have been forthcoming to beef up that initial US-led invasion force was never there because we were distracted by Iraq."

In fact, as documented in my earlier item on the Newsweek article, the Pentagon points out that at the time the Iraq war began in March 2003, the U.S. had about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan. Today, there are more than 21,000 U.S. forces either in Afghanistan or directly supporting missions there, and many thousands more civilians engaged in the reconstruction effort.

While passing along the expression by US military officials of confidence in ultimate victory, Miklaszewski ended with this dreary assessment: "for now total victory appears as distant and remote as Afghanistan itself."

All that was missing was the ending tag: "This message brought to you by the DNC."

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Today Show all's-wrong-in-Afghanistan ping.

[muawiyah]

No matter who has gone into Afghanistan, or when they've done it, there are always those who argue that "we must have more troops, more troops".

Happened to the Assyrians, to the Greeks, the Mongols, the Brits, ...... and then, in our time, the Russians.

That doesn't happen to be the solution to anything in a nation with a world of opium and a high background violence level.

Recombinant DNA technology would go a long way toward dealing with the opium.

[yoe]

Using recombinant DNA technology, what's the first step and who will do it? What other crops can they grow and will they?

[muawiyah]

What we have to do is use recombinant DNA technology to produce aggressive opium that bursts into flames at maturity.

Otherwise it looks like the common varieties, but can be seeded by air.

[HawaiianGecko]

We could put 5 million troops into Afghanistan and not find Bin Laden, particularly since he's not there.

 

[Steel Wolf]

Just in time for the November elections, a new MSM theme is emerging: Iraq's not the only mess - Afghanistan's in trouble too.

That's not exactly breaking news, amigo. Read any of the reporting out of Afghanistan for the last 8 months or so.

[Inspectorette]

Mark, there are 21,000 U.S. troops, but how about NATO? Any numbers on combined NATO forces?

[Boris99]

I have a feeling that all the dims that claim that we dropped the ball in Afghanistan because we invaded Iraq would be saying the same thing if we had never invaded Iraq at all.

[Mo1]

Isn't the WOT in Afghanistan now being run by NATO .. the very international community that liberals have be screaming to take over???

[muawiyah]

Or the last 8,000 years for that matter.

The place is a mountain range full of wild men.

[Polybius]

Jim Miklaszewski said that "suicide bombings targeting civilians are up 400%, car bombs doubled in the past year." Perhaps. But from what base? Have suicide bombings gone from 100 a year to 500 - or from 5 to 25? Jim didn't say.

The number of blow jobs given to the President of the United States in the Oval Office were up 3700% during the Clinton Administration and have decreased by 3700% during the Bush Administration.

[RoadTest]

"I have a feeling that all the dims that claim that we dropped the ball in Afghanistan because we invaded Iraq would be saying the same thing if we had never invaded Iraq at all."

I've been having the same feeling.

Carping and criticizing is just carping and criticizing. It doesn't care about the details.

The Democratic party is destitute of ideas for its platform. That's why "attack Bush" is its platform.

[Valin]

Just a couple days I described the way the Pentagon had systematically rebutted Newsweek hyper-negative portrayal of the situation in Afghanistan in its article "The Rise of Jihadistan."


I remember reading the pentagon's rebuttal on the front page of the NY Times.
(Now now back to the REAL world)

[69er]

I don't have the articles, but I've recently read that the troops in Afghanistan have been mowing down jihadis by the hundreds! Anyone have those articles saved?