Dateline Afghanistan ... Send in the Marines

[JackReacher]

No, he's not.

The danger in Afghanistan is that the Taliban will somehow wrestle back control of the country, or at least a significant portion of it. And we know what happened the last time - they provided safe and free harbor for Bin Laden and company to plan their attacks.

Now obviously Bin Laden, his deputy, Mohammed Omar and company are still free, but they're on the run at least. And there's still a chance you can catch them.

I was ambivalent about Iraq, but not Afghanistan. We need to finish the deal there.

If you think we're catching OBL, you're crazy. And so we dominate Afghanistan so OBL and his cronies can't congregate there? They'll find someplace else. Why bring back so many body bags for nothing?

Maybe I'm just ignorant. It's entirely possible. But I just don't see the point.

 

[RickStain]

Much of that is true.

I know killing terrorists and dismantling terrorist camps on the surface is fine and dandy, but when you get down to it 9/11 does not happen if . . .

--- You don't let them into our country
--- You don't teach them how to fly planes when they are not concerned about landing them.
--- You don't let them board planes with sharp objects.

The Law of Unintended Consequences bites us in the butt almost without fail when we stick our noses into other parts of the world.

This. Domestic counterterrorism is the only type that works.

 

[zagoshe]

It is no different than the disasters we crafted together (under presidents of both parties, by the way) in just about every one of these pissing matches -- under the guise of spreading democracy and keeping our world safe -- we've gotten into over the past 60 years.

I would posit that the good people of South Korea were glad we got involved in their little "pissing match" some years ago. (Look at their alternative) Now does that mean this country put our noses into some incrediblly stupid places with no value? Of course, but there iis some good to come of it as well.

We lost about 37,000 men in that conflict. There was an estimated 2 million civilian deaths in that conflict.

And did we make America -- which I thought was the point of a DEFENSE department - safer as a result of it?

 

[finishthehat]

There is a long, well-documented history, going back millenia, of foreign superpowers going into Afghanistan and having things go exactly as planned.

Isn't there?

 

[Boom_70]

We should be ok as long as Charley Wilson does not start providing the rebels weapons.

 

[Ashy Larry]

We should be ok as long as Charley Wilson does not start providing the rebels weapons.

that movie was on earlier......I love that flic.

 

[Killick]

Sorry, but Afghanistan goes hand-in-hand in Pakistan's effort to quash the Taliban. Perhaps some of you missed the missive of a few weeks back when some Taliban chieftain voiced their desire to nab some Paki nukes, which he said they would gladly try to use against the U.S.? So, while the Pakistanis are trying to crush them on their soil, we're negating their fallback positions in Afghanistan. Which, of course, wouldn't need to be done had Bush not gone off on his little crusade in Iraq.

This needs to be done.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Is this opposite day? Now suddenly we shouldn't finish the job in Afghanistan when THAT was the place we should have been all along?

No, because if Obama finishes the job then it makes it even more likely that the Republicans don't win another election in my lifetime.

 

[zagoshe]

Is this opposite day? Now suddenly we shouldn't finish the job in Afghanistan when THAT was the place we should have been all along?

No, because if Obama finishes the job then it makes it even more likely that the Republicans don't win another election in my lifetime.

Except for the fact that the "job" (whatever the heck that is) is never finished because if it were finished and there were no more bogeymen and/or big bad meanie dictators wearing funny little hats to protect us from, well then justifying the ridiculous amount of money we spend on military and defense projects, not too mention our insistence on sticking our noses into everybody's little pissing contest would become a helluva lot tougher.

Like I said, there is too much money and too much political capital involved in building war machines and flag waving for any politician to truly "finish" whatever pointless military excursion we decide to get ourselves into....

 

[ink-stained wretch]

I know Khe Sahn. Helmand it is not, though both grew wonderful dope.

I would note in passing that Gen. Dan K. McNeill was a shavetail grunt leading an infantry platoon in 'Nam. He has served his time in heck.

We shall see if our leaders have learned their lessons from history.

 

[Blitz]

Seems a U.S. servicemember has gone missing there in Afghanistan.

Perhaps its already been discussed on the board, but here's a link to a few-hours-old story.

http://news.aol.com/article/us-soldier-captured-in-afghanistan/553518

 

[novelist_wannabe]

And maybe, just maybe if we kept our forking noses out of all these little pissing contests, wacknuts from these groups would have less of a desire to drive their airplanes into our buildings.......

Point of order ... they were our airplanes. Carry on.