Article

2005-09-20 Afghanistan/South Asia

Karzai Calls for an End to Major Foreign Military Operations

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Posted by Steve 2005-09-20 10:38|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 If the Afghans want to take over, then more power to them.

Posted by ed 2005-09-20 11:07|| 2005-09-20 11:07|| Front Page Top

#2 I sure hoped we've mapped every inch of this country, so that if we leave too soon, we can do our damage from battleships next time.

Posted by plainslow 2005-09-20 12:03|| 2005-09-20 12:03|| Front Page Top

#3 "The crater formerly known as Pakistan"

Heh.

Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious 2005-09-20 12:16|| 2005-09-20 12:16|| Front Page Top

#4 This is all reasonable and good.

Posted by Darrell 2005-09-20 12:35|| 2005-09-20 12:35|| Front Page Top

#5 Move all the troops over towards Iran. Just to say howdy.

Posted by BrerRabbit 2005-09-20 12:43|| 2005-09-20 12:43|| Front Page Top

#6 "concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases, on the supply to them, on the money coming to them" -
Makes sense to me,tell perv"Lead,follow or get the hell out of the way".

Posted by raptor 2005-09-20 14:05|| 2005-09-20 14:05|| Front Page Top

#7 I sure hoped we've mapped every inch of this country, so that if we leave too soon, we can do our damage from battleships next time.

That would take one hell of a battleship.

Posted by Robert Crawford">Robert Crawford 2005-09-20 14:13|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2005-09-20 14:13|| Front Page Top

#8 But, but.... the MSM says its a quagmire!

Posted by Secret Master 2005-09-20 14:17|| 2005-09-20 14:17|| Front Page Top

#9 One of my biggest fears is that the bad guys would get smart and go to ground, the US pulls out, then they come back.

The cost of the yo-yo effect politically and financially would be devistating. I was sure that was Saddam's game. So far we've been lucky that our enemies aren't really that bright.

Posted by rjschwarz 2005-09-20 15:00|| 2005-09-20 15:00|| Front Page Top

#10 Does anyone have any information on the state of the Afghan Air Force? I'll bet our AF generals can't understand why the Afghans don't want F-15s, when what they require are sturdy prop-engine cargo and ground attack aircraft.

Posted by Rory B. Bellows 2005-09-20 16:41|| 2005-09-20 16:41|| Front Page Top

#11 The problem with that is that the average Afghan village has the knowledge, tools, and motivation to knock anything out of the air designed before 1980. Sure, maybe they have been "disarmed;" which only means they've oiled and buried their stuff in a cave somewhere. Afghans have forgotten more about hiding weapons than a NorCal survivalist will ever learn.

If I were the Afghan army I would simply skip having an airforce entirely except for helicopters and rely on a having a U.S. airbase. Safer and more cost effective that way.

Posted by Secret Master 2005-09-20 16:56|| 2005-09-20 16:56|| Front Page Top

#12 Helicopters don't work too well at the altitudes encountered in the Hindu Kush. Maybe an upengined Apache?

Posted by Phil Fraering 2005-09-20 18:41|| 2005-09-20 18:41|| Front Page Top

#13 Karzai states the obvious. Not too long ago he addressed the real problem by complaining about the lack of, and diversion of, reconstruction funds.

The best pacification program would a massive, if relatively inexpensive agricultural program improved one generation above what they currently use. This would involve hiring a huge number of people to clear and prepare new land for agriculture, dig irrigation canals, and set up co-ops to run each section as a business, coordinated by the experts as what would be best for them to grow and how.

The idea is to create constructive, additive, labor intensive employment for vast numbers of people, and quickly. Tens of thousands of acres could be in production in a few months, creating a huge agribusiness infrastructure.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-09-20 19:21|| 2005-09-20 19:21|| Front Page Top

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