The War is a Trap

Antiwar.com ^ | 11/12/01 | Justin Raimondo

[Cannon6]

Why waste time and space to post this tripe?

[dirtboy]

What better argument can be made for getting in, getting the guys who bombed us, and then getting the hell out?

I think a lot of folks have genuine compassion for the plight of the Afghani people - but we'll have to see what we can do to help them once the endgame arrives - and IMO we won't be able to do very much.

[NewAmsterdam]

The point is not that there was no destruction of industry in Europe, of course there was. The point is that the US made money available to nations that knew how to rebuild their own country. By the way, I would not maintain that most of the industrial destruction of Europe was the result of US bombing, as you seem to suggest.

[dirtboy]

By the way, I would not maintain that most of the industrial destruction of Europe was the result of US bombing, as you seem to suggest.

Most of the destruction in the countries of our former enemies was, which is more analogous to the current situation in Afghanistan than, say, Marshall Plan aid to Greece...

[Patria One]

Good post. A little research into the Northern Alliance will enlighten all but the thickest.

[SerpentDove]

Please copy, email, print, send to any American you care to. Never forget.

[NewAmsterdam]

Even that is only partially true. Although I do not know off-hand the figures you seem to exclude British and Russian bombings of Germany. Most industrial damage in occupied Europe were the result of German dismantling of whole factories and general war-damage. I am not afraid of criticising the US record if I think it honest, but I would not want to accuse the US of destroying Europe's industrial base in WWII.

[Patria One]

The Alliance, which has won American support in its battle against the Taliban, produced 150 metric tonnes of opium this year, according to Mohammad Amirkhizi, senior policy adviser at the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention.

"They always produce between 120 and 150 tonnes," he explained. "But in previous years that production was insignificant because production was so high in Taliban areas. "This year, because the Taliban has implemented the ban and no drugs, or almost none, were produced in the Taliban area, although they produced the same amount it is now significant."

The Northern Alliance is the main opposition force to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which the United States has accused of harbouring Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

Afghanistan produced 75 percent of opium worldwide in 1999 and 70 percent in 2000. This year the country only produced 10 percent of the world's opium, slashing global production by around 60 percent, Amirkhizi added.

UN surveyors in Afghanistan measured poppy fields in farms throughout the country to gain the figures.

[JoeSchem]

The Taliban must be destroyed not because they are worse mass-murderers than the Northern Alliance, but because they committed mass murder on US soil.

Message to the Muslim world: DON'T MESS WITH THE US.

[dead]

What better argument can be made for getting in, getting the guys who bombed us, and then getting the hell out?

We haven’t agreed on much lately, but I certainly agree with this.

I’m thinking that the Bush Administration wants to make a good faith effort to leave the country with some credible and solid hope for a peaceful future, then leave. What they do with that opportunity is up to them.

[Ada Coddington]

The Taliban must be destroyed not because they are worse mass-murderers than the Northern Alliance, but because they committed mass murder on US soil.

The mass murderers were Saudis and not Taliban. We are attacking the Taliban in order to show the home folk we are doing something and getting rid of the Taliban has been on our agenda for over a year.

[Ada Coddington]

Why waste time and space to post this tripe?

Because what he said should be said.

[Architect]

It was a useful kick-start but the real work was of course done by the West-European nations themselves.

It's not even clear that it was a kickstart. The nation that got the most money, Britian, made the least progress. Germany, in contrast, was a miracle. I doubt that American welfare had anything at all to do with it. The difference can be attributed entirely to Atlee and Adenauer.

[Ada Coddington]

You still running around demanding proof of bin Laden's guilt, or has his confession eliminated that red herring from your arsenal of BS

Yeah, I still want to see the proof.

[Ada Coddington]

Of late you have been posting the most anti-war propoganda it has ever been my experience to have read. Do these articles reflect your particular mindset, or are you presenting these horrific "chicken little" tales in an effort to hold them up to the light of ridicule?

To put it succinctly, the war is a fraud. I am opposed to killing innocent Afghanis in order to deter Saudi terrorists.

[ouroboros]

She probably doesn't care either.

Was that absolutely necessary?

[Ada Coddington]

Our goal is to break the Taliban for supporting AL Qa'eda, destroy the Afghan based portion of Al Qa'eda, and bring in OBL, dead or alive. We have no imperative to create an Afghan governing body although it seems we will try. If initial efforts at achieving this fail then we should move on to the next terrorist target and let Afghans sort out their own problems.

Its Saudi money that supports Al Qaeda which has bases and training camps all over the world. Al Qaeda personnel were long gone from Afghanistan by the time the bombing started.

[Junior]

The Afghans can't be too innocent -- after all, they support this mass murderer. Would you rather we sat back and did nothing?

[Ada Coddington]

The Afghans can't be too innocent -- after all, they support this mass murderer. Would you rather we sat back and did nothing?

We have sat back and done nothing about terrorist attacks against for over ten years and there has been no change. We are not going after Bin Laden or Al Qaeda who left Afghanistan long ago but are opportunistically attacking the Taliban because getting rid of these ungrateful wretches has been on our agenda and it makes the home folk think we are finally doing something.

[Don Myers]

Does this rather long piece ever say just who is supposed to have set a trap?