It appears that I have to disagree with most progressives on Afghanistan. I support Obama's objective to deny a safe haven to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Doing so will impede their ability to fund their jihadist operations against the West. The jihadists have failed economically and religiously to sway the masses and now they're falling back on force, their old historical standby technique to accomplish their goals of totalitarianist domination.
They still have a financial infrastructure which needs to be continually eroded if we want to stop their desperate attacks on society. You have to deny them a safe haven to accomplish that.
The militaristic philosophy of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, in whatever form this evil incarnates, must always be confronted. Hitler showed us that. Words, condemnation of these terroristic chumps, and deeds, economic aid to assist their unwitting poor recruits, usually children, must guide this policy and not just military or police action against the militants. Most important of all, any one or all of these actions must be directed at the jihadist's political enablers in Pakistan and Saudia Arabia, where ever they live.
While I respect pacifism and anti-war philosophy, in the face of the brutal totalitarian philosophy of religionist tyrants and oligarchs, I just feel that the progressive movement and its main goal of economic fairness gets diluted to our detriment by ignoring other people's suffering.
Yes there should be tolerance and there should be an attempt to bribe, cheat or steal recruits away from them. But raw force against the suicidal "school shooters," Al Qaeda militants, MUST be condoned. Do you just let them continue their massacre?
I took heart when I read that Code Pink was re-thinking their call for a pullout from Afghanistan.
I attempted to write this diary where "Taliban" or "Al Qaeda" could be replaced with "right-wing terrorist in America." We are against the American terrorists and school shooters; we want military or police action against them to a person.
Consistency of message is the key to a durable Democratic majority. I shouldn't have to be saying this.
We should support the fight against the Taliban on every front because they, like their American counterparts, must be confronted when their freedom of (hateful) speech is eclipsed by terrorist attacks.
Sometimes physical confrontation is necessary. Ghandi said he would have done it if he thought it would have made a difference. It just wasn't practical for his movement. We shouldn't advocate for force either unless it's abolutely necessary: stopping school shooters, terrorists, is absolutely necessary for world peace to have a chance. Both here and abroad.