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| Afghanistan |
| Havelock: Who lost Afghanistan? |
| 2013-01-22 |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #13 I seem to recall the last go around at a major power leaving had a Karzai-like dope swinging from a lamp post about 6 months in. Najibullah was no dope. But he was handicapped by an economy run along Marxist-Leninist lines. He hung on for 3 years after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. Ultimately, he lost because Yeltsin ended Russia's multi-billion dollar annual stipend to the government, even while Pakistan continued to support the mujahideen. Karzai's Afghanistan is more or less a market economy. If we hand him or his successor a few billion dollars a year, he'll hold it together, because Pakistan's economy is such a shambles now, due to the Talibanization of the country's economy, that it really doesn't have that much money to hand to the Taliban. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2013-01-22 20:05 |
| #12 The crucially important question is how long after the US and NATO forces leave before Karzai et al are in Switzerland and how many billions they have on deposit there. I seem to recall the last go around at a major power leaving had a Karzai-like dope swinging from a lamp post about 6 months in...Perhaps a Rantburg Poll might add some interest. Buehler...Buehler... |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2013-01-22 18:54 |
| #11 Muhammad Ali Jinnah What do I win? |
| Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 2013-01-22 17:34 |
| #10 You and I both "need" 4 bedroom, seaside villas in Rishon Lezion. But I simply don't see it happening. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-01-22 16:12 |
| #9 Whatever idiot has decided Afghans need democracy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-01-22 15:59 |
| #8 Our involvement in Afghanistan was (I say again was) important to the Champ for at least two or three very politically motivated reasons: 1. It was the "GOOD war" vs President Bush's bad war in Iraq. 2. It was a launch platform for the kill/capture of Ben Laden. 3. Champ was and remains deeply enamored with the power and decision making process extended him via persistent surveillance and "Drone Zapping". Of all the possible motivations, this one concerns me most. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-01-22 11:16 |
| #7 About nation building. Both in Germany and Japan the Allies forced a change of software: they ensured Nazism and the "Deutechland über alles in der Welt" for Germany, and the cult to the Emperor and the "spirit of Yamato" would be cast into darkness. In Afghanistan the West has helped to rebuild mosques and to has allowed its aid money to be squandered in Saudi Arabia. About as stupid as as if the Allies had paid for printing and shipping a copy of Mein Kampf to every post-WWII German. |
| Posted by: JFM 2013-01-22 10:46 |
| #6 DOS and the CIA fr allowing that corrupt fast food puppet to get elected. Between Obumble and Karsai, not much chance any kind of coherent plan would get traction. Otherwise the only solution would be to do the Babylonian thing and export all of the locals and resettle with loyal subjects...of course if you can find loyals that would go there except at the point of a gun. There are some good lessons on solidifying your military advantage in ancient history, too bad no one wants to look much past WWI. Tiglath Pilester, Von Moltke, and Patton are all you need to know about solving Afghanistan. The key lesson is terror works both ways and until we understand you can't make nice and win with stupid ROE and understanding, we'll never win in that awful rock heap. |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2013-01-22 10:35 |
| #5 It's sort of a Versailles Treaty, an unfinished mess that kicks the can down the road. The whole 'nation building' crock needs to be exorcised from the play book till its understood the enemy has been completely beaten (and acts accordingly) or has been isolated to specific geographic parameters from which it can be effectively contained. The next best option is to employ others to keep the miscreants so busy staying alive that they have no time to meddle in others' affairs. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-01-22 09:09 |
| #4 To RedNeck Jim Who cares? You. You when radical Islam gains still more impetus. You when an American city will dissolve into a nuclear mushroom. |
| Posted by: JFM 2013-01-22 07:45 |
| #3 "Losing" pediculosis pubis merits discreet celebration, but more importantly future.... CAUTION ! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-01-22 06:33 |
| #2 The question assumes it was ever ours in the first place. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2013-01-22 05:38 |
| #1 Who Cares. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-01-22 04:45 |