Being al Queda: Bush Cuts and Runs from Afghanistan
Sun Oct 01, 2006 at 04:59:51 PM PDT
Well, NATO is taking over the last vestiges of American control of the multinational forces in Afghanistan. I guess this frees the White House and the Pentagon to to focus on Iraq, the "main front in the War on Terror." I'm not the best person on the nuts and bolts of exactly what has been happening over there, but the intensive al Queda activities in Iraq are clearly in addition to Afghanistan's situation and almost exclusively due to our presence there. Afghanistan, however, is the movement's home turf and it's a very dangerous approach to relegate operations there to an international skeleton crew barely capable of maintaining the peace.
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Bush and Co. have not been very strong on grasping underlying situations. He apparently got to the Presidency without knowing there were sectarian differences within Islam. He invaded Iraq without knowing the war would cause turmoil and require additional effort. He passed over people with real knowledge of Iraqi infrastructure, and with years of experience specifically in reconstruction in war-torn areas in favor of political flunkies with little or no experience in anything. So, it shouldn't come as a suprise that they believe (or want to believe) Iraq is where the terrorists are. I personally believe we're there for the same reason many others do: Bush thought he was swooping into a PR dream: oust the bad, bad Saddam, let chaos reign to show how bad the Arabs can be when left to their own devices, and with his magic wand, create order and peace for oil companies everywhere. The End. ...Except... that's not how it happened.
His short, sweet, oil dream has drug into our interminable nightmare. Bush has woken up to find his sheets soaked with blood. He is ever harder pressed to keep the facade from slipping. Every reassurance given to the American public that the insurgency will weaken with... bombing, military sweeps of insurgent strongholds, a constitution, different rounds of elections, more sweeps, closing neighboring borders, and on ad nauseum, has proven untrue.
Every resource available for the war on terror has been seeping away into the sand. Th all-volunteer military, Defense money, war materiel, and the country's will to continue are mercilessly fraying and wearing out. So George and friends (his, not mine) had to pull the plug on leading the efforf in Afghanistan.
Well, so what? We're really just looking for one guy there anyway, right? And he's so far in hiding, he may as well be in a different century. I won't abuse anyone's intelligence with this line of thought, especially by pointing out that G. W. isn't particularly concerned about him. Oops (sorry).
Wrong. Afghanistan IS and always will be the origin and wellspring of the jihadist movement. This point is hard to put into words without sounding anachronistic and racist, so let me quote an expert.
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
-Rudyard Kipling "the Young British Soldier"
Ok, so that doesn't really say anything specific. My point is, Afghanis make undyingly devoted adherents of the Confederate States of America look like rank amateurs. I don't think we have an adequate comparison here. In contrast, converts to al Queda movements in other countries are oppportunists, using the mantle of al Queda to gain followers, money, and notoriety. By going after that gang and demoting Afghanistan, Bush & Co. are missing the target, fanning the flames, putting us all on the chopping block, and a lot of other nasty adages, incuding: drum roll.... wait for it... Cutting and Running! If we do that now, we'll be running into them everywhere, George.
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