I think it’s important for all Americans to remember why we went to war in Afghanistan in the first place.
Al Qaeda, through their leader, Osama bin Laden, brutally and deliberately attacked our innocent countrymen on September 11th, 2001. We had no quarrel with the Taliban ruling Afghanistan but to demand they give up Bin Laden and his henchmen for these crimes against humanity, but the Taliban refused.
We probably need to discuss this in talks with what remains of the Taliban, and hold them to giving up Al Qaeda, renouncing terrorism as a crime against humanity and “Allah”, and then we’ll leave. World opinion needs to be refocused on Al Qaeda’s dirty deeds and the Taliban’s support of them.
Until then we’ve got to have the stones to take war to them harshly and sternly if they cannot see the truth in the simple thing above.
However, if we cannot do that, then we have truly lost. We will have to admit that as a people, we did not have the will to defend ourselves and avenge the victims of 911.
It is that simple in my mind.
I agree with all you state in the referenced post except I think the logistics of the thing make your solution almost impossible. Bearing in mind, let me state right now, I’m not all that knowledgeable about the topography and politics of the region. I probably know more than most Americans but again, that’s not all that much.
It seems to me that the Taliban is not really an army; not a group of soldiers conscripted by a legal government, trained and uniformed and ready to fight under most recognized rules of warfare. So even if we were to get the “Taliban”, whatever that means, to agree to stop training terrorists, to give up Osama, who’s probably dead anyway but we can ask, to stop their tyranny of the Afghan people, there’s more where they came from.
And the “Taliban” might agree!
Two three weeks after this agreement, new fighters pour in from Pakistan and other crazed Muslim regions and soon a whole NEW “Taliban” is formed. They’ll certainly not obey any agreement by former terrorists and on and on it goes.
simply, the Afghanistan people need to defend themselves and as I understand it, these are not people who are such good fighters, they have no national pride, they associate themselves more as tribal members....and so on.
America’s job is to defend America because yes indeed, it was in Afghanistan that Al Queda thrived, grew and trained and hey, if I had to pick a place in the world to grow and train terrorists why...it would be Afghanistan! Saddam gave them some space but the whole world was watching Iraq so they had to find some devil place and Afghanistan it was.
I refuse to believe that it’s not possible to keep a predatory eye on the goings on in Afghanistan, to give the right guys a couple of bucks, to send in some CIA types....and keep such activities that endanger America...OUT. Beyond that, maybe help the Afghan “army”, “police” defend themselves against rogue nuts who would behead women in empty soccer fields, perhaps in advisory roles, perhaps by training.
But NOT with our troops in any way in danger or in any line of fire because it’s just not going to work.
At least as I see it and I am nothing but an armchair general, I acknowledge this.