Can We Succeed in Afghanistan?

Townhall.com ^ | August 21, 2009 | Mona Charen

[Joe Boucher]

Can we win in Afghanistan?
Yes, if we turn the job over to our military and get the hell out of their way and just let them do it.
Ya hear me stupid politicians? Obozo?

[bert]

.....Can we win in Afghanistan?......
.....if we turn the job over to our military ......

The war began to find and destroy the terrorists operating there and bringing war within our ocean protection. We from the beginning used Afghan friends to carry out the military campaign. That war was won. Al Queda is gone, apparently fled to Pakistan or possibly Somilia or both.

The original enemy is gone but we are now engaged with our original allies to eliminate their enemy, the Taliban. They are the population of the country.

It is not possible to destroy the radical religionist, they can merely be contained. As long as they have the Islamic fanatic leadership they will have the will and some form of war will continue. There will never be a military victory.

There must be a religious victory from within the Afghan mosques

[STONEWALLS]

....I got my doubts on Afganistan....Iraq at least was a country....Afganistan is just a bunch of tribes.

[Jonny foreigner]

Can we win in Afghanistan?

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As long as we are not willing to depopulate the whole “country” and ensure that no one could ever settle again lets say for the next 100 years (and we know this is not even an option). NO. No one can win anything in Afghanistan. People there will never change. If the tribes don´t fight the allies they will contine to fight each other again. this is all they know and all they have ever done in their life.

[SERKIT]

So “victory” is off the table, now we’re talking about “succeeding”, next will be “quagmire” or “Viet Nam”, followed by “retreat with dignity”, finishing up with Barry bowing to the next Jihadi leader of the country. Oh boy......

[uncommonsense]

I didn’t hear any answers, just questions. If the Tall-e-bon can take over northern Pock-e-ston with little trouble, then it would seem that S. Afghanistan will always be vulnerable. The Tall-e-bon did a good job during the recent elections. So yes, we can win - if, and only if, we let the best military leaders define the strategy, rules of engagement, fund them, use drones, and pressure Pock-e-ston to stop funding the enemy, kick into high gear, and rip their heart out for good.

[stuartcr]

We should have focused on Afghanistan immediately after 9/11 and done what was necessary then.

[hflynn]

You can hurt the Taliban big time, probably splintering them into self interest factions, by simply destroying the poppy fields.

[silverleaf]

bttt

[politicalmerc]

Can we win in Afghanistan? Yes, if we turn the job over to our military and get the hell out of their way and just let them do it. Ya hear me stupid politicians? Obozo?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

THANK YOU. If we fight like we are in a WAR and stop moaning, groaning, and whining over every misstep or mistake that results in a civilian casualty of COURSE we can win the war.

I'm not suggesting that we should but we could kill every breathing soul in Afghanistan. The problem with American wars lately (since the 1970's) is that we fight like we are chipping away at a boulder with a 1 oz rock hammer instead of getting out the mechanical 1 ton sledge hammer and crushing the boulder. We shouldn't play.

We should kill the bad guys and leave. If a few innocents get in the way, that's a terrible NECESSITY OF WINNING.

[silverleaf]

Sure we can win:

By buzzing the enemy instead of bombing him

By sending more troops but not a whole lot of troops, for domestic political, not military, reasons

By prohibiting troops from attacking the enemy when they hide behind civilians

By releasing or giving Miranda rights to captured terrorists

By having our secretary of state lament that our combat troops are not subject to prosecution by the International Courts

By threatening to prosecute US officials who in 2002 worked as allies with an anti-taliban tribe who mistreated, in traditional cultural fashion, taliban POW’s

By not calling this a war and not calling the enemy terrorists

By the totally cool totally innovative US policy of offering “millions” of dollars to Afghan farmers to stop growing poppies

By continuing to characterize the “challenge” from al Qaeda in Iraq and the “challenge” from al Qaeda in Afghanistan- as two separate conflicts, one legitimate and one illegal

By emphasizing that our president has Hussein as a middle name and shows his muslim savvy by saying Pokky ston and the Tolly bon

By withdrawing the US from confronting al Qaeda in Iraq and stepping up fighting the taliban in Afghanistan.
(PS lefties- we know you like to say Iraq never attacked us so- did the taliban attack us on 9-11?)

[RAO1125]

The real question is, is it worth the blood and treasure?

[Jonny foreigner]

THANK YOU. If we fight like we are in a WAR and stop moaning, groaning, and whining over every misstep or mistake that results in a civilian casualty of COURSE we can win the war.

I’m not suggesting that we should but we could kill every breathing soul in Afghanistan. The problem with American wars lately (since the 1970’s) is that we fight like we are chipping away at a boulder with a 1 oz rock hammer instead of getting out the mechanical 1 ton sledge hammer and crushing the boulder. We shouldn’t play.

We should kill the bad guys and leave. If a few innocents get in the way, that’s a terrible NECESSITY OF WINNING.

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Yeah but even if we would kill every breathing soul in afghanistan it would not fix the “main problem” because after we leave foreign terrorist can use this “land” again to build their training camps. Shure we “could” (in theory) kill every one there but in the end “we” just would have killed millions of people who never have been a dirrect security threat for us. Because neither the Taliban nor the rest of the people who are living in afghanistan (btw. the difference between both isn´t that much) is a dirrect treath to our countries. of course they would never fit in anything like our societies but to kill them “only” because there IS NO WAY to change their way of life, will solve nothing nor will it kill terrorism. this is why no one can or could ever win anything in afghanistan in history.

[neverdem]

Afghan war poll triggers Obama political alarms

The rats, as usual, are feckless.

[neverdem]

You can hurt the Taliban big time, probably splintering them into self interest factions, by simply destroying the poppy fields.

The war on drugs has been such a fantastic success. /s

[Future Snake Eater]

As I understand it, that would crush the livelihoods of many villagers, therefore making them enemies. You can’t remove a revenue source without finding a way to replace it.

[hflynn]

This would be a strategic war on drugs rather than tactical war that is doomed to failure. Comparable to destroying a factory that produces tanks rather than destroying the tanks after they leave the factory. Works every time.

[hflynn]

They are already the enemy. Where do you think the heroin produced from their poppy fields ends up? Screw them. I don’t give a crap if they all starve to death after we wipe their poppy fields off the face of the earth.

[Future Snake Eater]

They are already the enemy.

No, they aren't.

Where do you think the heroin produced from their poppy fields ends up?

Europe and parts of Asia. It's their problem.

I don’t give a crap if they all starve to death after we wipe their poppy fields off the face of the earth.

That's not really our mission there, is it?