A U.S. Marine moves through a village during a patrol near Bost Kalay, Afghanistan. (Sgt. Sean J. Berry/U.S. Marine Corps)
Bonnie Kristian, Defense News: US forces should leave Afghanistan, even if a deal with the Taliban fails
After 18 years, the end of the United States’ Sisyphean war in Afghanistan may be in sight.
American and Taliban negotiators have developed “a draft of the framework that has to be fleshed out before it becomes an agreement,” U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad told The New York Times, and they feel “enough confidence” to forge ahead in sorting out the details.
The basic framework Khalilzad described trades withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan for the Taliban’s pledge, “to our satisfaction, to do what is necessary that would prevent Afghanistan from ever becoming a platform for international terrorist groups or individuals.” An American exit will also hinge on eventual inclusion of the Afghan government in the talks, as well as Taliban consent to a long-term cease-fire.
So the longest conflict in U.S. history finally may be drawing to a close, and it should come as no surprise that diplomacy is the avenue to its completion. The past two decades have made nothing so inescapably clear as the impossibility of a military solution, as invasion, occupation and nation building have thoroughly failed in Afghanistan.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: I still remember what one of my uncles told me a year after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban government. As he put it .... if the U.S. is smart, they should support Karzai who had just become President, and leave. My uncle was an interesting character. He was a senior officer who fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation, and knew too well on how hard it is to impose a military solution on the region. If he was alive today, I am sure he would be telling everyone "I told you so", and he would be pushing for a speedy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Unfortunately .... no one would be listening to him. President Trump may want U.S. forces to get out of Afghanistan, but America's foreign policy establishment, the Pentagon, and senior leaders in both the Republican and Democrat parties have strongly voiced their opposition to such a move. But more importantly .... and one that I find disturbing .... is that according to this poll a majority of the U.S. public are also against withdrawal .... Poll: Americans Oppose President Trump’s Foreign Policy (January 29, 2019). Until public opinion changes, the U.S. is going to be stuck in Afghanistan for a long time, unless President Trump decides to go against public opinion and any chance of being re-elected, and make the withdrawal happen.
5 comments:
"is that according to this poll a majority of the U.S. public are also against withdrawal "
Some of that opposition against withdrawal has but one principle. The president from the opposite party is for a withdrawal.
Other do not want to withdraw because of the sunk cost fallacy. Too many of our soldiers have died there.
Other because they fear China will move into the vacuum.
Others because they fear that it will be become a haven and a training ground for terrorists like when Al Qaeda trained 20,000 people there during the Clinton years.
Others because Women will be cruelly treated by the Taliban? The feministas spoke up briefly in 199 and 2000 and since then they have stood down and shut up. They know their place. They know better than to speak out... against the Taliblam, but they are going after the US & the US military. Would a western feminazi ever suicide bomb the Taliban and make them fear the burqa?
Some people doe not want a withdrawal, because they remember Barracks' "Watch this" Iraq Withdrawal.
Such a poll is really fucking worthless except for fodder for politicians (in the worst sense ) and journalists (it fills space and air time & they can spin it into their narrative).
It would make sense to ask Why at least once. With a summary statisti you gain useful information, but you also lose a lot when you boil it down to 1 number.
Slicing and dicing the information by party is necessary and perhaps helpful, but if it is the only way you slice and dice things, then we might as well as be the stupid blues and the greens, all that tech & no brains!
Poll: Americans Oppose President Trump’s Foreign Policy
- Military Times via WNU
Citing Afghanistan as America's longest war does not give credit to the fact that, since its inception, America has been at war somewhere for over 90% of its existence. Accordingly Afghanistan might be considered to be the longest segment of its virtually perpetual state of war, but arguably, the Indian war(s) in America lasted longer than the Afghanistan episode, and there are no doubt many who feel they are still going on, albeit somewhat less obvious.
The is Bob Huntley being the liberal ___ that he wants to be every day, truth be damned.
Ely S. Parker
Ira Hayes
Louis Gonzaga Mendez Jr.
Ben Reifel
Charles Curtis
Afghanistan is not technology advanced enough to withdraw special forces. In terms of knowing what is going on and whos doing what where a withdrawal would leave everyone in the dark. I do believe this is why its a coalition effort rather then just an American effort. End of the day i believe a strategy for leaving revolves around simply updating the country. Bringing in computers, setting up wifi, accessible water and power grids. Changing the country into a place where instead of selling refined ironore products such as guns, we bring in the digital age. Implement a strategy to refurbish outdated phones, computers and devices to empower the people to see the country change for the better.
"withdrawal would leave everyone in the dark"
Pakistan and to a lesser extent Iran
not so much.
These are the people providing sanctuary weapons, training and money to the Taliban.
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