U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the economy during a visit to
Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York September 21, 2009.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Posted on 09/21/2009 12:50:31 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Democratic US Senator Jim Webb said Monday the United States had reached a "turning point" on Afghanistan, after a top general warned the war could be lost without more troops.
"We have reached a turning point in Afghanistan as to whether we are going to formally adopt nation-building as a policy," Webb, a member of the Senate's Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, said in a brief statement.
His comments came after US and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal's blunt assessment, in a classified report obtained, and partially published, by the Washington Post, adds an explosive element to a quickening debate over future war strategy.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“Nation building” has been the policy for some time now, unfortunately.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the economy during a visit to
Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York September 21, 2009.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
I vote NO.
How about a neutron bomb? Drop that in Osama’s neighborhood and we go home?
One thing that needs to be done is to defeat radical Islam and that includes the Taliban. If we do not finish the job now we will be back later and the job will be a lot tougher the next time around. Pulling out will not solve any problems it will just delay them.
And staying there since 2002 helping the corrupt, ballot stuffing, druglord infested, clan based Karzai government (which imposes the death penalty on Christians) has worked because.....?
They do not read and write, even in their own language. We are premature to consider ‘nation building’..a couple of years and hundreds of billions more may not do it.
Continuning in Afganistan should be titled “Multi-Decade-Prelude-to-Afganistan-Nation-Building”. It is a long haul proposition.
Since half the conservatives in the country want us to get out and all the liberals..I guess we will, but it will be a bad long term mistake.
A new Taliban lead govt will be destabilizing to the region..Pakistan and India. My guess is that they will then retarget the tribal areas on Pakistan and inflame problems in Kashmir..which could lead to a nuclear war between Pakistan and India.
China may decide to chime in..
We were there before and walked away. As much as it makes me want to puke, I think we should stay and build. At least roads. Maybe my gas tax dollars can get roads for someone becaue I sure don”t see it being used here. But zero tolerance for the women enslaving anti-american, anti-isreal, douche bags. we need to execut those that can’t seem to get the big picture and instill a little fear. hearts and minds will follow.
We should have removed Afghanistan from the map on 9-12-01. It’s not too late.
I think Afghanistan provides the perfect area to test and evaluate the single payer option in healthcare. If it can work here, it can work anywhere. Don’t you know its a right? If the Afghans had access to affordable quality care they would stop fighting and become productive people. The only thing holding Afghanistan back is the high cost of medical care and health insurance.
Islam is not going to go away and the infidel does not get to dictate to Muslims what Islam is. Nation building was a huge mistake. Afghanistan will always be an Islamic sewer.
it is one of only 3 choices (the others being a return to the lawless status-quo of 9/10/01, or complete depopulation using neutron weaponry
Also, how they use fertilizer...from www.jihadwatch.org today:
“U.S. distributes fertilizer to Afghanis, Afghanis use fertilizer to make bombs to blow up Americans
Out-of-control, jaw-droppingly witless dhimmitude: “Wheat Seed Arrives for Distribution in Nawa District,” by Lance Cpl. Jeremy Harris for Dvids, September 17 (thanks to Diana West):
About 1,050 metric tons of fertilizer will also be distributed in conjunction with the seed, giving the farmers a better opportunity for success, said Purves, who works closely with the Marines of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. The Marines established security in the area and will continue to have a presence while the local government solidifies, but this distribution effort is spear-headed by the Afghan government.
What could go wrong? Let’s see. “U.S., Afghan Lives Increasingly Lost To Roadside Bombs,” by Tom Bowman for NPR, August 2, 2009:
U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan and local civilians now share a grim common enemy: death by roadside bomb.
July was the deadliest month for American troops since the war began in the fall of 2001. At least 43 U.S. servicemen lost their lives, with about two-thirds being killed by roadside bombs....
Most of the bombs are crudely made, sometimes including fertilizer and diesel fuel packed into plastic jugs. They have little metal, so they’re difficult to find with metal detectors and other sophisticated equipment. So U.S. Marines are bringing in dogs to help sniff out the components....
Those roadside bombs are becoming the favorite tool of the Taliban, according to a U.N. report released this week.
The report says Taliban forces are now changing their tactics, shifting away from ambushes or frontal assaults. U.S. officers report finding more and more caches of fertilizer and bomb-making materials.
But fertilizer given to the Afghan government won’t make its way to the Taliban, right? Wrong: “In the villages of Afghanistan, many young men are working for the government during the week, but fighting for the Taliban at weekends.”
Afghanistan will never be Kansas. There will always have to be a force up in the hills chasing bad guys.
Job one for us has to be building the force that will keep the bad guys up in the hills and out of the cities and populated districts. Its going to have to be a lot bigger probably than we planned, and well paid, well officered, well non-commed.
Call what we do “nation-building” if you want to, what we can’t do is leave a vacuum to be filled by the people we just booted out. What we also can’t do is be forever out front in this war. This has to be an Afghan-led war, with us in support roles doing training, logistics, reserve rescue and stiffening. But we have to get back to what works, what led us to success in the beginning. Afghan generals, Afghan soldiers, with us providing advice and assistance.
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