Web Letters: Don't Escalate in Afghanistan

The Taliban have at least one advantage over the US and NATO troops--they're Afghanis.

Everybody seems to have forgotten what Afghanistan is all about. The alleged mastermind of 9/11 was a guest of the then-de facto government of Afghanistan. The USA demanded that the alleged mastermind of 9/11 be yielded up. The de facto government of Afghanistan refused. The US government attempted to arrest the alleged mastermind of 9/11, dead or alive, using B-52 bombers, US Special Forces and Afghani mercenaries called the Northern Alliance. The US government called its action "the war on terror." The US government failed to arrest the alleged mastermind of 9/11, dead or alive. (The US government still hasn't arrested the alleged mastermind of 9/11, dead or alive.)

Instead of doing something sensible, like going home and having a re-think, the US government stayed in Afghanistan and "the war on terror" morphed into "the war for a democratic Afghanistan" and "the war for the education of school girls" and "the war to enable women to display their hair and wear jeans" and, fatally, "the war on Saddam Hussein." It is still morphing--now it is "the war on Pakistan's tribal areas."

One US commentator when asked what the US should do with its foreign policy said "the US should stand down." In my opinion, this advice should be followed in Afghanistan. OK, the Taliban take over the country (again). Sharia law will be cruelly enforced (again). There will be mayhem and massacre and women will suffer (again). At least it will be Afghani mayhem and massacre; and the country will attain some level of equilibrium after fifty years have passed. Just like Vietnam did.

I'm surprised that Cheney, Wolfowitz, Perle et al. learned exactly the wrong lesson from Vietnam; they thought foreign policy had to be tougher; in fact, it needed to be more benevolent.

Kenneth Griffiths

Canberra, Australia

Empires have for centuries tried to conquer Pushtunistan, which overlaps the artificial borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan imposed by the British Colonial Empire. None have ever succeeded, not even Alexander the Great. The Brits were sent home with their tails tucked between their legs. The Russians were utterly defeated and demoralized, and they had 150,000 Russian soldiers augmented by 250,000 Afghani soldiers. What will Obama achieve with 60,000? Nothing! Use satellites, drones, missiles and lightning commando raids if you must, but get out of Afghanistan as an occupying power. You'll only waste American blood and treasure for futility's sake.

John Stephens

Big Timber, MT

Okay, here is the real deal, the problem and why this war will not come to an end, unless We, the People, truly rise and change the course of this country. The military-industrial complex is what truly runs, or decides what happens in our foreign policy and war. The only thing this country produces on a mass scale is; weapons of war, machines of war! weapons of mass destruction! The military-industrial complex is a business and their product is war! That is why they have strategically placed in each state, every state in this country, has a plant that produces a part to a war machine! These wars are privatized, they are money-makers for the likes of Boeing and Haliburton and Lockheed Martin, and let's not forget about the private mercenary groups, like Blackwater--which is finally being thrown out of Iraq by the Iraqi government.

Dick Cheney just claimed that he "believes" that there is going to be another attack, a mass-scaled "terror" attack on the US. Well here is what I think, I think he knows something. I think he knows something planned. Then he can say "I told you so," and that's it: we will be at war indefinitely. Oh, and forget about our civil liberties here at home, you sneeze wrong and you are gone!

These people are evil! They use lies and deception to get what they want and most of us buy it, hook, line and sinker. They will continue to do this over and over until we truly resist and truly get change! Not rhetoric, change. Not little bones tossed out to the masses of dogs to distract them. We are in two countries fighting "terror" when the real terrorists walked right out the front door of the White House and walked right home, without even a second look. And Obama, he doesn't want to "look backwards, just forward," which means the bad guys get to walk away and the mess is just going to continue. Obama already has blood on his hands, Pakistan!

Think about it people. Then wake up! This is for real. We, the People, are seriously running out of time.

kristofer PASSAGGIO

http://enemyartistkristofer.blogspot.com
North Hollywood, CA