PS The
AP story I found was datelined yesterday, I don't know if there was a diary on it or not yet. Therefore, apologies if there was!
Senate Majority Leader Mr. Bill Frist of Tennessee recently went to Afghanistan for a photo op with battered servicemembers.
After posing with, he spoke a few choice words. And, my, what words they were.
"You need to bring... those people who call themselves taliban... into a more transparent type of government," Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. "And if that's accomplished, we'll be successful... A political solution is how it's all going to be solved,"
Oh Frist... first you tell the VOLPAC, in your own written words I might add,:
The United States has not spent the last four plus years liberating, defending, rebuilding, and assisting Afghanistan's democratic development only to see the Afghani people remain subject to laws befitting the barbarity of the Taliban.
I guess they aren't quite so bad now?
But then, Frist, what about that remark you had during the UAE port deals? You know, the one thats published on your VOLPAC page...
The U.A.E. has been used by Al Qaeda. They approved of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan before we had to take it down for harboring Al Qaeda.
So, your reasoning for blocking a commercial deal was the UAE's ties to the Taliban regime. Hmm, your line of logic is a negative association to create a sense of why we should not do this.
Let me get this straight:
We can't trust Group A to operate our ports merely because of association with Group B but we should hypocritically trust Group B to help operate a federal government?
And, what's this about admitted Al Qaeda and Taliban ties? You do remember, Frist, Al Qaeda were the guys who kinda did some memorable things a few years ago a sunny autumn morning. So why should we be chummy to the Taliban now? Perhaps Taliban is the international cool guy who everyone wants to be friends with and our going into Afghanistan was a plea for his attention by punching the kid he was hanging out with in the face.
All bad analogies aside, its probably because it was a war which started (offically) on October 7th, 2001. Its been over half a decade long, with no end in sight. (Ironically, its as long as a single US Federal senator's term.)
As Henry Kissinger pointed out recently, "the only viable exit strategy is defeat of the insurgents."
Table open: What do you think?