Posted on 05/22/2016 8:53:51 PM PDT by thoughtomator
The Pentagon thinks it’s killed a Taliban official (Akhtar Mansour) by drone. But what difference does it make to us to kill this man (meaning a positive difference, a gain, a benefit)? Whether or not some outfit in Pakistan applauds this or hates it, what difference does it make to Americans? Why is the U.S. still trying to kill off Taliban or stop them? Why is the U.S. still in Afghanistan 15 years after it went there to get bin Laden? Why did the U.S. start a war with the Taliban anyway? The humongous cost of this killing is already $700 billion. When other costs are factored in, the cost will be 2 or 3 times that, or about $2 trillion. For what? What did we get out of it? What are we supposed to be getting out of this?
Hillary Clinton strongly supported the U.S. going more deeply into Afghanistan. Obama approved the surge she supported. He’s had 7 years to end the war and he didn’t.
Hillary Clinton is an idiot. An official like her who bases decisions on anecdotes, emotions, images, and biases is an idiot and dangerous to boot. This is Hillary:
“It’s clear that if I had been president, we would have never diverted our attention from Afghanistan. When I went to Afghanistan the first time and was met by a young soldier from New York, in the 10th Mountain Division who told me that I was welcomed to the forgotten front lines in the war against terror, that just struck me so forcefully.” For God’s sake, is this how she’ll make decisions if elected? If she had sound instincts in foreign affairs, this kind of emotional basis for forming policy might be negated, but there is no evidence at all that she does.
(Excerpt) Read more at davidstockmanscontracorner.com ...
that’s cause we actually fought to win back then....now, not so much, no very pc to put your enemy out of our misery....
-—If she had sound instincts in foreign affairs, this kind of emotional basis for forming policy might be negated, but there is no evidence at all that she does.-—
Unfortunately half the electorate makes decisions based on emotion as well.
Between the photos these events happened: communist president, Soviet invasion, local resistance, US arms rebels, some funds go via Pakistan, Pakistan arms and funds Pakastani Taliban, stinger missles drive Soviets out, civil war breaks out in Afghanistan (this is what likely caused the damage), Taliban welcomed to end civil war. Now I'm in no way supporting the Taliban, but the reality is that the destruction had already happened by the time Taliban took over.
The wording on the second photo could also read "After Afghanistan Civil War", "Result of Soviet Invasion", "Result of US Abandoning Afghanistan", "Result of Cold War".
In a very real sense, stupid US policy is responsible for resurgence of radical Islam and jihadism, including the Taliban. It's humbling and raises the question "What stupid things are being done in foreign affairs right now?"
The difference between WW2 and now is the people. in WW2 the people were forced to fight and gladly went home once the leaders were killed.
In Afghanistan and surrounding countries each individual WANTS to fight and die for Mohammad.
Good point, we were fighting countries, now, regardless of how most of the left feels, we are fighting a quasi religion.
We face the same problem in Afghanistan that we faced in South Vietnam: we cannot defeat an enemy who has the advantage of an inviolable sanctuary to retreat to, where his women and children can find refuge, and from which he can obtain training and supplies.
In the case of Afghanistan, that refuge is Pakistan, particularly the Tribal Areas.
But you are wrong about not being able to conquer an area. The solution for a people who just won't stop fighting you, is to exterminate them completely, and repopulate the area with your own people.
Good grief! I'm all for taking out terrorist, but decades lingering in these countries...what's the strategery?
Bingo
FIXING TO?
How many times do I have to tell you people, it's "Fixin' to."
Jeez... [facepalm]
Gotta fight ‘em over there so we don’t have to fight them over here. That was the prevailing logic for this whole fiasco.
Yes, but we could have taken out or greatly degraded the Taliban and then left. Instead we decided to do “nation building” which is a waste of time in Afghanistan and places like it.
No, it’s, “fittin’ to.”
>One thing about both Bush 41 and Bush 43 - when they drew a line in the sand, they followed through unlike the inept obama and his ridiculous “ redline” in Syria that drew a false flag attack and a loss of credibility
Wait. You mean the same that came out with the whole ‘Religion of Peace’ non-sense, that flew out the Saudis+ right after 911, went to war w/ the least troublesome in the region (instead of those that fostered terrorism...aka S.A.), gave *US* the NSA/TSA...but no profiling, said ‘the war would be paid for’ (sure it was, by We the People), gave us some of the most F*-up ROE, etc.?
Followed-through? OK, maybe. ‘In it to win it’? Never.
Bush 41 kept Saddam in power, did he not think that Saddam would inevitably plot his revenge?
Any idea what year that top photo (the two girls) was taken?
>Bush 41 kept Saddam in power, did he not think that Saddam would inevitably plot his revenge?
Yes. He was SUCH a *problem* in the 1st Gulf War.... /s
What ‘revenge’? More like Libya...more BS than anything; *rattle sabers*, swap here, swat here, *rattle sabers*, repeat.
It sure wasn’t like the Saudi’s are doing/been doing. Nor did *we* take it to those whom deserved (too much hand-holding and kissing going on).
1970
I wanted to go there then. The family put a stop to it.
I wanted to see the big buddhas.
Why? What difference does it make? Thugs in the WH, war on drugs, war on terror...Soetero is in league with the M-B-Hood, Sinaloa and the homosexual agenda amongst others...illegals getting free stuff from American’s. We’re all slaves now. Makes a big difference, divide and conquer.
“How many decades have we had bases in Japan and Germany?”
3 decades too long.
Next question.
L
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