by Jack
Does anyone notice the strange lack of protesting, the eery public silence despite 11 years of war-fighting?
Our original mission was to bring to justice those responsible for 9/11. Also to take care of those who were aiding and abetting after the fact. Al Qaeda has driven out of Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden has been killed, tens of thousands of dim-witted, uneducated, fundamentalist, Taliban have been killed.
Soon after the invasion, the Afghan government was changed from a stable Islamic theocracy to a corruption riddled Islamic republic, arguably among the most corrupt in the world. But, at least the Taliban were not in control.
Billions of taxpayer’s dollars have been handed over for the sole purpose of nation building to the aforementioned corrupt government with predictable results and neither Obama or Romney want to talk about it.
WHY? Why isn’t the war a key issue in the 2012 election?
It’s seem like Afghanistan is the forgotten war, yet every day that passes another young American soldier dies…and for what? Isn’t this worth some dialog? I want to know why we’re still there? What’s the point, what’s the objective, what’s the end game? We’ve got over 80,000 soldiers there and the latest polling shows 68% of us do not approve of this war.
Oddly, the war began very well, with about 300 Special Forces directing the movement of the Northern Alliance, backed up with some US air power. That’s all it took and the Taliban were on the run. It was an easy victory…then we messed it up. The Iraq war, considered a war of choice by most, diverted our attention and stole away our finite military resources.
Without adequate boots on the ground, it became hard to hold the ground won by the Northern Alliance early into the war. This prolonged time of weakness allowed the Taliban a great opportunity to regroup and move back in. Mainly this was the Kandahar and Hilman provinces. And to this day, these two tribal regions remain strongholds for the Taliban. We drive them out, they run to Pakistan, regroup and move back in. This goes on and on like a game of cat and mouse.
The people of Afghanistan grow weary of the fighting and our presence.
“Candidate Obama promised to refocus America’s resources on Afghanistan. But by the time President Obama sent 33,000 more troops to Afghanistan in December 2009 in a policy known as the “surge”, years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan had drained Western resources and sapped resolve to build a viable Afghan state.” NBC World News, July 16, 2012.
As of July 31, 2012 – “1,935 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan. The dollar cost. . . $445 billion. It’s also claimed the lives of over 12,000 civilians caught in the cross fire.
For the last two years attacks by so-called friendly Afghan forces have been on the rise. Take the case of Iowa National Guard soldier, Terry Pasker. Sgt Pasker and a U.S. civilian truck driver were traveling with several other military vehicles in an area near Kabul that was considered safe. They were on their way to check on a construction project when the convoy approached a check point. The Afghan Security Officer approached his truck. By all appearances he look very casual..perhaps too casual, because at 3 feet from the driver’s door he drew his AK47 and fired point blank at Pasker and the civilian, killing them instantly. He was then killed by US soldiers in the second truck back.
It’s estimated that 90% of these random killings by “friendlies’ are traceable back to some cultural issue, usually a perceived slight or insult accidentally committed by one of our US forces.
According to my source we do indeed have a cultural problem. Every commander has a different way of dealing with the civilians. Some try to hard to reach out and are perceived as weak, some keep them at a distance and they are perceived as afraid. Those who do best treat the Afghan’s with respect, but are firm and forceful. You would think re-learning this with every new group would not be necessary, especially as we enter our 12th year of war. That’s why at this low point, we’re better off to say, mission accomplished, let’s go home.
Ah, there is a Mr Baumgartner running for the Senate in Washington State who shares your concern. From Slate:
“Mike Baumgartner, a U.S. Senate candidate hoping to unseat Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell this fall, told a local reporter to “fuck off” earlier his week. His only apparent regret about his outside-the-box PR strategy? Failing to stop his staff from later issuing an apology on his behalf.
“The reporter, Baumgartner told CBS News afilliate KIRO 7, “had it coming,” adding that he had not signed off on the apology before his staff released it.
“The way Feit tells it, Baumgartnerwho for the record called Akin’s views “ignorant” and “offensive”made it clear during the interview that he wished the media focused more on the war in Afghanistan (the ending of which is a key pillar in his campaign) than the recent abortion flap.
“That night, Feit opened his inbox to find an email from Baumgartner that included a pic of the candidate and another man. It read: “Josh, this is Pat Feeks, a Navy SEAL killed last week in Afghanistan. Take a good look and then go fuck yourself.”
Now we got two … TWO … bonafide brain surgeons running for the Senate. And they’ll probably be elected, and the citizens will deserve everything they get.
And it’s true, I admit it, I have been having a high old time reading the commentary on poor Mr. Akin’s little difficulty. I highly recommend Joan Walsh on Salon.
It’s not so much that it is forgotten, at least in terms of informing the public, it is that it is inconvenient. Can you imagine if the press had the same animosity toward Democrats as they had/have for GWB what the headlines would be?
I’m afraid that there just isn’t a good way to spin the number of deaths, the refugee problems, the lack of progress overall and the explosion of turmoil in the entire region. There is no way to make the Comander-in Chief look slick and commanding. And so…we avoid all news about the Middle East that might harm the President and we feature stories based on “hopeful signs”.
What Jimmy Carter did for Iran this President yet do for the entire ME before the sand all settles. And you know the same grounding that shapes his policy at home shapes his policy for the war…fairness…equal outcomes…no good no bad just folks…can’t we all just get along…I’m tired of this game…I think I’ll play a few rounds of golf. Where is the leadership?
I pray for our troops and our nation.
I was just thinking about this. You just know the second Romney is elected the MSM will without missing a beat fire up the whole body count thing including the liberal outrage to go with it.
Oh, there’s absolutely NO question Obama is getting a free ride on the war! That’s a given. The usual wacko protestors are probably having a nervous breakdown not protesting the war, it goes totally against everything they love to protest, but they are resisting, doing it for the cause. And Toby you are also right, if Romney or name any republican was in there under the same circumstance, the left would be in the streets screaming warmonger!
Libby not sure how your comments relate to our story or to us. We sure don’t like foul language or threats on PS, that’s not our style and we think it generates bad karma.
Remember what happened to the last guy who kept dropping the F bomb and sending us nasty, sometimes threatening comments? ; )
Hey … it was the would-be GOP Senator who dropped the F-bomb … to a journalist … and who shares your concerns re Afghanistan.
How is that not relevant? … in all manner of contexts.
It ain’t my party members (Biden always excepted) who are imploding all over the place.
Libby your party members implode all the time…they just don’t get dinged for it. Byrd used the “N” word and nobody blinked…not even the talking head who did the interview…Republicans have been fried for much less.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz just made a huge a** of herself with Anderson Cooper of CNN. (Three cheers for Cooper for doing his job and calling her on it.)
The President has done nothing but make an a** of himself in this campaign. He is in full attack mode with one lie after another and nothing of substance to offer. Forward (more of the same unrestrained by the need to get reelected) isn’t a plan that will put people back to work. It is a plan for deep depression and hyperinflation.
Those interested in “knowing our enemies” (and dealing with them appropriately) will find the following from PJ Media of interest. It asks and seeks answers to the following question: “Why has the story of a 20-year illegal infiltration of D.C. on behalf of Pakistani intelligence gone unnoticed?” See here:
http://pjmedia.com/blog/the-biggest-d-c-spy-scandal-you-havent-heard-about-part-one/
And here:
http://pjmedia.com/blog/the-biggest-d-c-spy-scandal-you-havent-heard-about-part-two/
Serious enemies require serious scrutiny and we the people need a serious leader to defend our nation.
Those dam dumb extremist Muslims are the devils of the earth. they are worse than Hitler Stalin combined. they are the sons and genetic posterity of the devil or the evil one , that the bible talks about in Genesis. they are not a religion of peace. they never were the only thing they understand is total annihilation!!! Then they can crawl back in there cave, and rot away and that is fine with me.!!!!