DonnyBGood
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4850
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posted 31 March 2008 06:50 AM
I support the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. But what happens then? Laxer citing Mark Twain Of course people are opposed to the debacle there but the problem is even Jack Layton thinks that there should be some way to protect the populace from the extremist. The problem is that we are doing it now by supporting warlords that are worse than the Taliban. Here is the so-called "realist" position: realpolitic quote: We are not really there to build a democratic Afghan state, in which girls can go to school. So far as we are contributing to that, it is only a means to an end
quote: Under the pressure of really needing results, the U.S. military has mastered the old colonial art of making alliances -- solid alliances based on tangible mutual interests -- with local tribal lords.
quote: Yet if we leave, the insurgents return. This is because Iraq and Afghanistan are not planets of another sun. The Iraqi insurgency is fed by remote sponsors in Syria, Iran, and elsewhere. Similarly in Afghanistan, our troops can only chase to the sanctuaries the Islamists now enjoy in Pakistan's Pashtun and Baluchi regions. And as I've been writing in this space recently, the threat Islamists present to Pakistan itself is more worrying than the threat they present to Afghanistan. For Pakistan is a full-fledged nuclear power, and if it falls, the hellgates open.What I'm saying is, regardless of who is in the mood, a withdrawal from Afghanistan would be a catastrophic mistake. Instead, sooner better than later, we must extend Anbar methods all the way to Kashmir
Is this a likely scenario? pack up and leave... quote: Afghanistan is a country which is likely to need billions in aid for decades to come to help it recover from the ravages of 30 years of war. It has little or no infrastructure, hardly any roads, the professional classes departed with the rise of the Taliban and, apart from opium and carpets, it produces virtually nothing. Its strategic importance is minimal and as long as Nato has a presence in the country al-Qaeda will never be able to rebuild its bases.
London Telegraph There are some other recommendations on improving the mission here but is that even possible? afghanistanWatch What are the real motivations? [ 31 March 2008: Message edited by: DonnyBGood ]
From: Toronto | Registered: Jan 2004
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