Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. The Afghanistan QuagmireThough this Reuters article is hardly one of the best I've read on the topic (for that, I'd refer to The Independent's Patrick Cockburn and Robert Fisk, and The Nation's Christian Parenti, among others), Afghanistan is a subject I think we've neglected on this blog. And with casualties higher in Afghanistan than Iraq for the first time, and the administration increasing the troop presence significantly (not to mention the propect of significantly higher outlays to fight the war in the years ahead--years which will quite possibly see the US deficit hit close to $10 trillion over the next decade), even this short article may remind us of the big financial impact this "little war" may have on all of us for a long time. Needless to say, I, like many of the readers of this blog, don't necessarily feel that the war can, or should be "won." And the article does make some interesting claims, like this one: "foreign assistance coming into Afghanistan was one of the richest sources of funding for the Taliban."04:15 August 27th, 2009 Obama’s Afghan war - a race against time By: Bernd Debusmann Bernd Debusmann is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own) By making the war in Afghanistan his own, declaring it a war of necessity and sending more troops, President Barack Obama has entered a race against time. The outcome is far from certain. To win it, the new strategy being put into place has to show convincing results before public disenchantment with the war saps Obama’s credibility and throws question marks over his judgment. Already, according to public opinion polls in August, a majority of Americans say the war is not worth fighting. Almost two thirds think the United States will eventually withdraw without winning. There are similar feelings in Britain, which fields the second-largest contingent of combat troops in Afghanistan after the United States. A poll published in London this week showed that 69 percent of those questioned thought British troops should not be fighting in Afghanistan. In the United States, almost inevitably in a country that never forgot the trauma of the only war it ever lost, 36 years ago, pundits are conjuring up the ghost of Vietnam. A lengthy analysis in the New York Times wondered whether Obama was fated to be another Lyndon B. Johnson, the president who kept escalating the Vietnam war. The war in Afghanistan is drawing into its ninth year and chances are it will still be going when Obama is gearing up for his campaign for re-election in 2012. According to a study by the RAND institute, a think tank working for the military, counter-insurgency campaigns won by the government have averaged 14 years. Read the rest of the article Labels: Afghanistan war, Barack Obama, iraq war Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!).
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I am sorry to say that we got it wrong again!
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The review by the top US commander and his assessment is not factual its just based on assumption and illusion provided by people who does not have understanding reality or does not want to reveal it. The answer to the raising insurgency is very obvious it does not needed comprehensive review and it is as simple as this! When Taliban was defeated why people welcomed foreigners? Why there were no formidable Resistance? The reasons are obvious, Taliban took over Afghanistan from warlords in similar speed as US and allied forces did from Taliban. The reason was the frustration, suffering and helplessness of ordinary Afghan's in the beginning with lawlessness of warlords and then with the harsh rules and poverty during Taliban. So I believe neither Taliban, nor NATO should take credits for defeating their rivals, it was the force of people who supported over throwing Taliban, they were hopping you will bring justice, transparency, improving economy, rule of law and most importantly crippling of corruption. If the reasons of rising insurgency is even now not obvious to you the top US general I will clarify this in simple layman terms and they are as follow: Dear sir you and your politicians in the time of invasion got it wrong you imposed a regimen made from a group of symbolic corrupt people, influenced by drug dealers, warlords, ethnic extremist, which represents you to the afghan people, they delivered nothing as you promised so people now see you exactly the same as you are represented by your chosen and favoured group of people who's job is to deliver nothing and promise every thing, they are incompetent, they lost their trust and as a result any good thing done by you is perceived with extreme suspicion. They are wasting your money and they are disrespecting the loss of Innocent lives of both your servicemen and women and also of civilians so no matter what ever sacrifice you do in term of loosing lives of your servicemen or spending billions of dollars your not getting it right and day by day people are getting more and more frustrated. So I am asking the politicians please get this right before it ends up in humiliating defeat, don't ask the army to do your job let them do their job and they done it brilliantly, they are not just fighting war against insurgency they are in clean up operation of mess created continuously by politicians in the west and their impotent allies in Afghanistan, so you should take the responsibility for all this chaos and try to get this right. If you don't get this right then we have tough times ahead its just a one way towards an infamous defeat, waste of resources, loos of precious lives and the biggest political disaster of modern times. Dr A Aziz from Afghanistan << Home |
