Article

2019-06-26 Afghanistan

Opinion: America's One Big Mistake in Afghanistan - fighting the wrong war

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Posted by Besoeker 2019-06-26 07:57|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 The war in Afghanistan is not an insurgency. It is a proxy war being waged by Pakistan against the U.S. and Afghanistan.

Agree! Not eliminating border sanctuary Pakistan from the equation, "Misstep No. 4."

Believing that the Klingon 'whack-a-mole' strategy will lead to success; "Misstep No. 5."

Posted by Besoeker 2019-06-26 08:10|| 2019-06-26 08:10|| Front Page Top

#2 Mistep #6, Failure to follow "What would the Romans do?" and depopulate the country along with Pakistan.

Posted by Silentbrick 2019-06-26 08:17|| 2019-06-26 08:17|| Front Page Top

#3 ^...you mean actually fighting a war rather than a police action (a la Chicago/Baltimore).

Posted by Procopius2k 2019-06-26 08:32|| 2019-06-26 08:32|| Front Page Top

#4 "Police Action" triggers memory hole response: The still unresolved Korean War was originally labeled a "Police Action."

Posted by Besoeker 2019-06-26 08:35|| 2019-06-26 08:35|| Front Page Top

#5 If only India were not such a pretentious weasel, we coulda done something about it together.

Posted by Dron66046 2019-06-26 08:41|| 2019-06-26 08:41|| Front Page Top

#6 Ref #5: If only India were not such a pretentious weasel, we coulda done something about it together.

Perfidious Albion was a good teacher.

Posted by Besoeker 2019-06-26 08:47|| 2019-06-26 08:47|| Front Page Top

#7 Actually, I misspoke. Perhaps out of angst.

It's the babus and the bloody Parliament, those self obsessed, illiterate, megalomaniacs; they induce this state of lethargy and inactivity in an otherwise resourceful, erudite and efficient military. And morale suffers. Only yes-men and pogs are appointed to intelligence roles.

A military budget from which money disappears into lamp-lighting ceremonies and expenditures on VIP visits and useless shit. We didn't provide decent armor or rifles to the grunt for 40 fucking years... aaah ! Fuck it.

Sorry guys, ladies. Drunken rant.

Posted by Dron66046 2019-06-26 08:56|| 2019-06-26 08:56|| Front Page Top

#8 Yupp, B. That is fine, but we have a responsibility to our own future generations to ensure that Pakistain not survive this century. And Israel has never screwed us, nor Russia or Japan. We can surely let mutually beneficial deals and understandings prevail within safe red-lines.

For example, Trump got on Turkey case quick for the S-400 thingy. He doesn't mind us buying it. We have a bit of pretension and protectionist tariff thing but that's everyday economics. Every leader has a duty to extract the max good for his own country.

Posted by Dron66046 2019-06-26 09:07|| 2019-06-26 09:07|| Front Page Top

#9 At the time we entered the Afghan war, shortly after 911, people in this country were wanting retribution for 911. George W. was on the hook to do something fairly quickly. Mistakes are made in every war. I cannot think of any "perfect, mistake-free war" that was ever fought. The global banksters make a lot of money from war.

Posted by JohnQC 2019-06-26 09:23|| 2019-06-26 09:23|| Front Page Top

#10 Man, I was betting 'ol Herb was gonna lead this thread off once I saw the headline.

Posted by Raj 2019-06-26 09:40|| 2019-06-26 09:40|| Front Page Top

#11 I cannot think of any "perfect, mistake-free war" that was ever fought.

Gotta scope 'War'.
Kuwait, Grenada, Panama were pretty clean actions.

Posted by Skidmark 2019-06-26 10:08|| 2019-06-26 10:08|| Front Page Top

#12 Atlanta, Gettysburg......

Posted by Besoeker 2019-06-26 10:42|| 2019-06-26 10:42|| Front Page Top

#13 Should have sealed the borders with Iran and Pakistan and destroyed the opium crops. Ince that was done go on occasional raids into the hinterlands if intel indicates it was worthwhile.

Trying the Democracy route was well intentioned but insane.

Posted by ruprecht 2019-06-26 11:07|| 2019-06-26 11:07|| Front Page Top

#14 That's the wrong, wrong war. We are fighting the drug war in Afghanistan, and it makes no more sense there than it does here.

Posted by Iblis 2019-06-26 11:14|| 2019-06-26 11:14|| Front Page Top

#15 I've stopped writing long comments that refute the premise and cite sources because Frank G just deletes them in a fit of rage because he can't bear to see opposing opinions.

Who said the objective is to win in the first place? The goal is to continue the war for decades. It's highly profitable.

Posted by Herb McCoy 2019-06-26 12:39|| 2019-06-26 12:39|| Front Page Top

#16 Post 9/11 the military incursion to punish the Afghans et al for allowing UBL to operate from their territory was perfectly acceptable, put the fear of God (ours not theirs) into them and tell them it gets much much worse if they let it happen again. But then the nation build BS and the never ending flow of money to try and bring them form the 7th century to the 2nd world, whose idea was that? W got that from his old man and the failed assumption that we could still afford to do stuff like that, or wanted to in most of the country. It is the drug war, but fight it here, not there, and get out of there ASAP.

Posted by NoMoreBS 2019-06-26 13:04|| 2019-06-26 13:04|| Front Page Top

#17 Iblis, the drug war in Afghanistan funds jihad. it is very different than the regular drug war.

Posted by ruprecht 2019-06-26 14:25|| 2019-06-26 14:25|| Front Page Top

#18 I've stopped writing long comments that refute the premise and cite sources because Frank G just deletes them in a fit of rage because he can't bear to see opposing opinions.

We used to have a "fit of rage" here now and then. Righteous fits they were. Most of those fellows have passed on or are languishing in God's waiting room somewhere.

Posted by Besoeker 2019-06-26 14:49|| 2019-06-26 14:49|| Front Page Top

#19 Nothing wrong with opposing opinions. It's the constant repetition of hackneyed talking points that becomes wearisome.

Posted by SteveS 2019-06-26 16:46|| 2019-06-26 16:46|| Front Page Top

#20

Herby, you choose positions that are difficult to sustain.

Posted by Phaick Uneretle6310 2019-06-26 18:58|| 2019-06-26 18:58|| Front Page Top

#21 #15 - you are a lying piece of shit. I've ridiculed your agitprop bull, but never deleted. FU. You are on notice that lies will be called out

Posted by Frank G 2019-06-26 20:09|| 2019-06-26 20:09|| Front Page Top

#22 Kuwait, Grenada, Panama were pretty clean actions.

The "kicking Sadaam's ass" part of the Iraq war went fairly well. The "turning Iraq into a real country" part, not so much.

Posted by SteveS 2019-06-26 21:03|| 2019-06-26 21:03|| Front Page Top

#23 Should have bulldozed every mosque.

Posted by Woodrow 2019-06-26 21:12|| 2019-06-26 21:12|| Front Page Top

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