Posted on 09/21/2005 2:49:54 AM PDT by dts32041
FOR 50 years, the American left complained that we supported dictators instead of backing human rights and democracy. On Sunday, the lefties got yet another dose of what they used to demand: Free elections in Afghanistan, long the victim of tyranny.
The left's reaction? Ignore the success of the balloting and explain away its importance by bending the truth until it's as twisted as an arrow designed by a liberal-arts faculty.
Why? Because Afghan democracy was enabled by the U.S. military — and by that devil incarnate, George W. Bush.
Leftists care nothing for real human beings. They only care about causes in the abstract — and who does a thing is far more important than what actually gets done.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
* Is Afghanistan imperfect? You bet. But its government doesn't look bad compared to Louisiana's. Afghanistan will never be Vermont. The issue is whether or not it will be a better Afghanistan. It already is.
It was probably the first time in the their history that FREE ELECTIONS were held. Of course, the Jackass Party, racist to the core, had already deemed them unfit to vote, and were ready to leave them to the Taliban.
Troll alert.
Please take your ridiculous, childish arguments to the DU web site. You will fit right in.
"Leftists care nothing for real human beings." That needs to be repeated over and over again.
ditto bump
frighteningly true. it has cost me friendships.
"America put Saddam in power"
You know nothing about the history of Iraq.
Perhaps you should do a little reading before conversing with adults.
Saddam overthrew General Ahmed Hassan Bakr to eventually become the dictator of Iraq. The USA had nothing to do with that.
Exactly, and there's a rather frightening video of Hussien consolidating his power just after he took over, and he points out men in the audience who are taken out and immediately executed.
Hussien didn't become a murderous dictator when he first invaded Kuait.
Mark
What is utterly expected and still utterly amazing is how the soul-less American media feels no shame at all in the extreme short shrift they gave the Afghan elections.
Read your history from someplace other than DU. The folks protesting this weekend could care less about human rights, freedom, or justice they only want to destroy America.
President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday challenged the need for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying airstrikes are no longer effective and that U.S.-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks.
His call for a new approach to tackling militants came despite the fiercest fighting in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces invaded in late 2001, with more than 1,200 people killed in the six months leading up to Sunday's historic legislative elections.
Karzai demanded an immediate end to foreign troops searching people's homes without his government's authorization. He also said foreign governments should "concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases, on the supply to them, on the money coming to them" — a veiled reference to support that militants allegedly get from neighboring Pakistan.
Afghan officials have repeatedly accused Pakistan of aiding Taliban rebels and other militants, a charge Islamabad vehemently denies.
"I don't think there is a big need for military activity in Afghanistan anymore," Karzai told reporters. "The nature of the war on terrorism in Afghanistan has changed now.
"No coalition forces should go to Afghan homes without the authorization of the Afghan government. ... The use of air power is something that may not be very effective now. ... That's what I mean by a change in strategy."
It was the second time Karzai has publicly challenged the U.S.-led coalition. In May, before a trip to Washington, he demanded more authority over the 20,000-member U.S.-led coalition here, but President Bush said they would remain under American control. In addition to the coalition troops, there are 11,000 NATO peacekeepers in Afghanistan.
Karzai's comments coincided with the start of the count from the Sunday's parliamentary elections — the first here in more than 30 years. Trucks, helicopters and even donkeys were ferrying an estimated 6 million ballots to 34 counting centers around the country.
The polls are seen as a final step toward democracy on a path laid out in 2001, after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban for refusing to hand over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 attacks.
At a news conference in Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld appeared to agree that airstrikes in Afghanistan might not be as useful as they once were.
"When you don't have a massed army on the ground or large puddles of enemies, then airstrikes are less effective than when you do have that type of a situation," he said.
Overall, however, Rumsfeld emphasized the country's ability to hold parliamentary elections without major violence, saying it marked a significant step toward stability.
"The country that hosted Osama bin Laden, that supported training camps for al-Qaida, endured decades of civil war, Soviet occupation, drought, Taliban brutality, is now a democracy that fights terrorists instead of harboring them," Rumsfeld said.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the U.S. government works closely with the Afghan government and will continue to do so after Karzai's remarks on foreign military operations.
"These are all issues that we stay in close contact with them on and we'll continue to do so," McClellan said in New Orleans where President Bush was getting updates in Hurricane Katrina.
"America put Saddam in power"
Would you enlighten us on this one.
Afghanistan's accomplishments are being ignored. Iran's interferrence and Syria's in Iraq are also being ignored by the MSM. Instead it is blame Bush, blame the evil US Military.
Empty suits, flat earth thinkers, without a clue. Why do we listen to them?
________________________________________________
frighteningly true. it has cost me friendships.
They really didn't care about you... ;^)
Do you know anybody from these countries or are they just props to you? I live in a city with the largest Afghan population outside of Afghanistan and I can assure you that the REAL people (not your ideological constructs) are thrilled with elections, hopeful for the future, and think they are better off than they were under the dictatorship.
People like you who support dictatorship make me sick!
To me the most insulting comments I have seen is: They can't handle freedom or they don't deserve freedom.. To me that is racist and wrong headed.. Everyone deserves freedom..
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