Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Being in Afghanistan
Can someone please tell me why we are in Afghanistan? If the answer is essentially the former president's response of taking a "just" war to them so they won't bring their "holy" war to us, can someone please tell me like I'm a two-year old what is the plan and exit strategy? Doesn't war just seem unjust and unholy?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Good morning Judy,
My husband served active duty military (Air Force) for 23 years. He just retired this past month. The final straw was a possible deployment to Iraq with the Army. Believe me he has done his share in deployments and overseas TDY's etc. It is from the military families perspecive I am responding.
The war in Afghanistan was in response to the attacks of 9-11. Bin Laden took responisibility for the attacks and was claimed to have his headquarters based in Afghanistan.
After years of concentrating our efforts in Iraq the war in Afghanistan was placed on the back burner. We spent billions each month, undocumented in the annual budget, in Iraq.
Now the same surge effort which enabled us to reduce the number of troops in Iraq is the same effort needed in Afghanistan. Unfortunately after years of concentrating in the wrong area we have permitted these groups to become stronger and gather more resources.
Bin Laden needs to be captured and made to answer for the horrific attacks against the innocent citizens of the United States.
It appears these groups are hiding in the mountains. Some of their top officials are being targeted and killed.
War is never a good thing. The Taliban came after us. The US we are only defending ourselves. This is were the terminology "just" comes in to play. This the troops can understand and their loved ones can accept--not hunting down weapons of mass destruction that never existed. Only to later be disregarded for "liberated" a country.
In Afghanistan we could care less whether they want us in their country. We are there to capture Osama bin Laden and bring down the Taliban.
Morning Pamela,
Thanks for your story. It's appreciated. So, does this mission in Afghanistan to capture Bin Laden include nation building? It does not seem to be about Bin Laden alone, but about remaking a nation that no other nation before us, as in Iraq, has been able to do.
Being no foreign policy expert, I do not have the answeres. But I would like to have an exit strategy and some sort of specific plan of what we are doing there. Afghanistan and Pakistan seem to have been on the verge of collapse for years. Stability and security are so tenuous.
I'm wondering if revenge is always the best policy and if our involvement there will be by far more riskier than say having some mission that targets Bin Laden. What is for certain, however, is that when one of these guys die another seems to arise. By the way, I am sometimes called Jude, but never Judy. :-) Are you ever Pam?
Judith and Pamela, thank you for this exchange of perspectives. I also needed an "education" about why we are still in Afghanistan.
Kelly - I too am seeking for more information of the matter. I fear that we will be in Afghanistan indefinitely.
Please forgive me, Jude is beautiful. And Pam is fine with me.
You are correct, Pakistan and Afghanistan has been on the verge of collapse for years. The US will undoubtedly assist in the recovery of their country. There is some speculation that Pakistan has knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts. Pakistan is considered a friend to the US.
We have an administration now-- with leadership--which understands diplomacy.
We will be in Afganistan for some time. We are still in Kuwait--with political and financial support from the Saudi government.
Continued prayer and support for those who serve.--Pam
Pam - I agree with your assessment of this administration and diplomacy. May God bless us all.
Hello Judith (not Judy, Afghanistan is a puzzle and always has been. Bid Laden is a man, the Taliban is a world wide organization. War, any war is for two things: real estate and merchandise. The real questions about what is going on are, where do the weapens come from, who's paying for them and who's making money off of them. Bin Laden is probably not even in Afghanistan or Pakistan. He could be in Brazil for all we know. But catching him will probably do no good at this point.
Right after 9/11 Bin Laden made a speech, and one of the things he said was that this all started 80 years ago. Nobody paid any attention to that remark, but I did. I looked it up. 80 years from 2000 was 1920, right after World War One when the western powers went into the middle east, drew arbitrary lines in the sand, set up puppet governments and effectively destroyed what remained of the Ottoman Empire. Bin Laden and a lot of pther Arabs want it back. Then, 20 years later, the western powers cut an open wound into the Arab world and stuck in, what to them is a thorn, Israel.
Bush said they hate our freedom and envy our way of life. Nothing could have been more ignorant for him to say. Nobody except a masochist hates freedom amd they don't envy our way of life or they would be making it happen in their own lands. What they hate is
Israel and all the nations that support it, which is why they bombed the Worlds Trade Center ( where the financial support of Israel comes from) and the Pentagon (which is where the arms come from that we send them).
No doubt some reader can correct and upgrade my history, which I would gratefully receive, but too many pieces fall into place if you look at a broader picture. And if one wants to find who's running the Taliban the place to look is probably in Europe.
Hello, DB. Thank you for your words. I am one who missied the significance of Bin Laden's statement. My understanding of that part of the world is limited, although I have respect for the people and long history of countries like Iran. But you have given me much to think about and I shall do a little research. Thanks!
Good questions Judith.
Thanks, wmmbb. It's good to see you here.
Post a Comment