'NATO Could Fail in Afghanistan' Says Top General
"NATO could fail in Afghanistan" What lefty peacenik says we could FAIL in Afghanistan? (asks right wingers in Canada and the USA).
Well, these are words spoken by General James Jones, the Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Commander, United States European Command.
He said the enemy forces in Afghanistan — some 'Taliban' (the definition is fluid), the rest being warlords and farmers connected with the drug trade — were fighting a war of attrition.
Listen, it is not that I like the Taliban - I DON'T!
It is not that I want our forces to fail - I DON'T!
But since George Bush went into Afghanistan and then convinced Canada to join in, I and others like me have been asking hard questions about the strategy and tactics involved in this cursed mission.
Look at the abuse that Conservatives and other assorted, mindless right wingers have thrown at Jack Layton. Mr. Layton has simply asked the hard questions of Prime Minister Harper that need to be asked, and he has been replied to with abuse and nastiness.
Meanwhile, right wingers (Tories and some Liberals) have dinked around with words by shouting their 'support the troops' slogans when what they are really trying to convince Canadians to do is 'support the war'.
It's a war that can't be won - ask the Russians - and yet we have never even looked at an alternate, more realistic strategy, other than WAR.
Right wing politicians and their supporters all need a good swift kick in the ass for their mindless direction in Afghanistan.
CBC
Buck,
Why do you love the Taliban so much, and equally important, why do you want our forces to fail???!!!
That aside, I'll admit that our forces could fail, it's just that I don't think it would be the best thing for us or Afghans. Is there a supporter of the mission who doesn't admit that there is a possibility of failure? I'd say they're delusional.
Posted by
Anonymous |
2:26 pm, November 25, 2006
Ollie - I put those two lines in for your benefit - you will NEVER convince me that the strategy is a good one. With what we are spending in Afghanistan, we could have put the entire nation on payroll if they would lay down guns and pick up shovels. But oh no ..... Harper thinks war is way more fun ... so we continue to do more of what is NOT working.
Posted by
leftdog |
3:18 pm, November 25, 2006
Buck,
Points taken. But as an aside: Do you really think that Harper (and every NATO country involved in the Afghanistan mission) is unequivocally evil?
Posted by
Anonymous |
4:29 pm, November 25, 2006
No... not EVIL ..... just kinda dumb, and naive ... and rambunctious .... and just way too gung ho for my liking.
Posted by
leftdog |
4:32 pm, November 25, 2006
Buck,
just kinda dumb, and naive ... and rambunctious
Haha, thanks for the clarification.
Posted by
Anonymous |
5:57 pm, November 25, 2006
Hm, to be perfectly honest I think Afghanistan has (or at least did have) a much higher liklihood of becoming a stable nation (not necessarily one in a style the US might choose but stable nonetheless)than (insert name of other random ME nation).
I think Canada is feeling the pain there because of us in the US. We continue to waste manpower and resources in Iraq which is, let's be honest, a complete waste of time and in the meantime are letting Afghanistan slide down a slippery slope and letting our allies carry our load.
If I were leading Canada I would tell us: listen up US, either get your buns in here and carry your fair share of what is if you recall, YOUR fight OR we are leaving and BTW...our price for oil to you has just gone up so you can either pay up or start shopping at Iran-Mart.
Ack, I know that's "gung-ho" but I don't really have a problem with ultimatums...just people like the Bushie that are good at issuing them when they have no ability to back them up.
I do agree that economic development is key but would qualify that with the very real fact that without sufficient troop presence to maintain order it would also be pouring money down the drain.
Needless to say, no one is ever going to let me determine foreign policy in Canada or even in East Timor so no worries.
Posted by
Anonymous |
1:15 am, November 26, 2006
NOTE: if the other link for Gung Ho does not work, this one should.
Posted by
leftdog |
5:29 pm, November 26, 2006