Posted on 05/31/2004 1:43:51 PM PDT by GreatOne
Edited on 05/31/2004 1:48:29 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
The handful of valiant American warriors fighting the ''other'' war in Afghanistan is not a happy band of brothers. They are undermanned and feel neglected, lack confidence in their generals and are disgusted by Afghan political leadership. Most important, they are appalled by the immense but fruitless effort to find Osama bin Laden for purposes of U.S. politics.
This bleak picture goes unreported because journalists are rarely seen there. It was painted to me by hard U.S. fighters who are committed to the war against terrorism but have a heavy heart. They talked to me not to undermine policy but to reveal problems that should and can be corrected.
Afghanistan constitutes George W. Bush's clearest victory since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The Taliban regime has been overthrown, eliminating al-Qaida's most important base. But the overlooked war continues with no end in sight. Narcotics trafficking is at an all-time high. If U.S. forces were to leave, the Taliban -- or something like it -- would regain power. The United States is lost in Afghanistan, bound to this wild country and unable to leave.
The situation in Afghanistan, as laid out to me, looks nothing like a country alleged to be progressing toward representative democracy under American tutelage. Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-sponsored Afghan president, is regarded by the U.S. troops as hopelessly corrupt and kept in power by U.S. force of arms.
Those arms are not what they seem. The basic U.S. strength in Afghanistan is 17,000 troops of ''straight-legged'' infantry -- conventional forces ill-prepared to handle irregulars. The new unit assigned to Afghanistan is the 25th Infantry Division, which has been stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and has not seen combat since the Vietnam War...."
My father who was shot down twice flying paratroopers in africa during ww2 would have appreciated your post if he were still alive. Thank you and welcome to FR.
Novak is an Arabist, and hence unhappy to see Saddam's forces so whipped.
Whooo I too am of cajun decent and am damnd proud of it. Do not equate that ass to all cajuns.
My experience too with all the troops. I think troops are like the US population as a whole. You can always find some that are of any view you'd like. Novak and his type just find the ones they want, a small sample, and say that's how the troops feel. Very scientific and accurate for the intended purposes.
I suspect it doesn't because it would condemn what the US did in Afghanistan, as well.
The war in Afghanistan? I can see why some might be against war in Iraq, but Afghanistan? Are you a pacifist?
OBL is STILL dead!
Liar!
It's just nonsense. Besides, leg units are not sissies, like ragin-sissy-girl.
Novak has become a jerk.
Considering all the taxpayer dollars President Washington sent to Arab countries that is a laughable statement.
Just out of curiousity "Mr. Washingtonian": do you care that President Washington actually sent huge sums to foreign countries?
(... as did Adams, and then there was that President Jefferson sending foreign aid also to rebels fighting the French... )
I don't agree with Novak, and even less with the full blown isolationist paleos. I think the war requires forward reach into same hard to get to places, because that is where the enemy likes to hide. But it is not simply a snit. We should continually review our troop deployments around the world and what they are accomplishing. And whether it remains necessary. There is a definite historical tendency to just stay forever any place we've fought.
In Afghanistan, we should be looking at ways to get the locals up to snuff to take over the remainder of the job. Not as a defeat. Just as a way to get our troops back, to reduce the hardship on them and to have them available for new emergencies. If that takes a while yet, OK. But it is where we need to be headed.
Our mission in the 'Stan is very simple: Keep the Taliban from coming back, keep Al Qaida from setting up any bases, and keep barbarians with bones in their noses and Quran on the brain from killing American or European office workers. Beyond that, if they want to sit around and daub themselves with animal droppings, I could give a flying hoot.
Novak has been a lost cause for some time now. He's just another inside the beltway jerk now - who thinks wars are won and democracies created in time for the 6PM news.
The same US task force that found Saddam is along that Afghan/Pakistan border. Many threads on FR about it, there have even been times where US forces have crossed into Pakistan.
Heck no they are not. I was pointing out that he doesn't even know what we have for boots on the ground over there. His column was just BS all the way around.
3rd or 4th tour....where...did he volunteer for 4 tours?.....hmmmmmm!
"This account has been banned or suspended."
I wonder why?????
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