Reply With QuoteI'm heartened by the announcement that we will be drawing down in Iraq. Also by the commitments reiterated in the past week by both France and England. The former taking serious hit to their troops.
The Force is With Me
Afghanistan on Fire
Afghanistan on Fire
The news out of Afghanistan is truly alarming. This week, Taliban forces staged two of their most complex and audacious attacks of the war. Nearly 100 insurgents killed 10 French paratroopers in an attack near Kabul. At least 10 suicide bombers mounted a coordinated assault on one of America’s largest military bases, wounding three American and six Afghan soldiers. An earlier attack at the base killed 12 Afghan workers.
The number of United States and NATO casualties is mounting so quickly, that unless something happens soon this could be the deadliest year of the Afghan war. Kabul, the seat of Afghanistan’s pro-Western government, is increasingly besieged. And Taliban and foreign Qaeda fighters are consolidating control over an expanding swath of territory sprawling across both sides of the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Let us be clear about why this is so dangerous. The more territory the Taliban controls, the more money it can raise from narcotics and black-market activities to mount an even fiercer challenge against the foundering civilian governments in Kabul and Islamabad. And the more territory the Taliban controls, the more freedom Al Qaeda will have to mount new terrorist operations against this country and others.
There is no more time to waste. Unless the United States, NATO and its central Asian allies move quickly, they could lose this war. The following steps need to be taken in the coming weeks.
Washington must finally make clear to Pakistan’s leaders the mortal threat they face. The Army must turn its attention from India to the fight against the Taliban. Civilian leaders must realize that there can be no separate peace with the extremists. Sending American troops or warplanes into Pakistani territory will only feed anti-American furies. That should be the job of Pakistan’s army, with intelligence help and carefully monitored financial support from the United States.
More American ground troops will have to be sent to Afghanistan. The Pentagon’s over-reliance on airstrikes — which have led to high levels of civilian casualties — has dangerously antagonized the Afghan population. This may require an accelerated timetable for shifting American forces from Iraq, where the security situation has grown somewhat less desperate.
NATO also needs to step up its military effort. With Russia threatening to redraw the post-Soviet map of Europe, this is not time for NATO to forfeit its military credibility by losing a war. Europe does not have a lot of available ground troops either. But it needs to send its best ones to Afghanistan and let them fight.
Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, must rein in his government’s rampant corruption that has all but driven his people into the hands of the Taliban and criminal warlords. The international community needs to provide more — and more carefully monitored — resources to build up Afghanistan’s security forces and administrative capacity and accelerate rural development.
These investments will take time to pay off. But seven years have already been wasted, and unless such efforts begin now there will be no safe exit from Afghanistan for the foreseeable future.
Afghanistan’s war is not a sideshow. It is the principal military confrontation between America and NATO and the forces responsible for 9/11 and later deadly terrorist attacks on European soil. Washington, NATO and the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan must stop fighting it like a holding action and develop a strategy to win. Otherwise, we will all lose.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/op...yt&oref=slogin
Another deadly and useless war that the US is blundering deeper into. Afghanistan has the potential to far more dealy and costly then the Iraq war .. only this time it won't be Bush or the right leading the charge into utter stupidity.
AMERICAN HISTORY ITSELF IS A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE, ALONG WITH THE COURGE AND SACRIFICES OF CONSCIOUS WHITE AMERICANS, LIKE VIOLA LIUZZO, EVERETT DIRKSEN, AND MANY OTHERS, HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER FOR OUR FREEDOM, AND FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
In America, rights are are not determined by what is just, fair, equitable, honest, nor by what Jesus would do. Rights are determined ONLY by what you can DEMAND.
Not So Junior Member
I'm heartened by the announcement that we will be drawing down in Iraq. Also by the commitments reiterated in the past week by both France and England. The former taking serious hit to their troops.
The Force is With Me
We need to follow the advice of the Rand Corporation.Originally Posted by Kathianne
The "war on terror" is a hoax .. and terrorism is best fought by law enforcement.
Let's not follow the Soviets into the same failure that caused their demise.
AMERICAN HISTORY ITSELF IS A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE, ALONG WITH THE COURGE AND SACRIFICES OF CONSCIOUS WHITE AMERICANS, LIKE VIOLA LIUZZO, EVERETT DIRKSEN, AND MANY OTHERS, HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER FOR OUR FREEDOM, AND FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
In America, rights are are not determined by what is just, fair, equitable, honest, nor by what Jesus would do. Rights are determined ONLY by what you can DEMAND.
God Bless America
I bet every time a solider dies, Blackascoal is first to stand up and applaud.
cancer survivor
JPP Contributor
we never should have invaded iraq
instead we should have strengthened our commitment in afghanistan
but no oil in afghanistan, but plenty of poppies...
I pledge allegiance to the constitution of the United States of America as amended by the legislative and executive branches and interpreted by the Supreme Court
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America
Verified User
Thor is a public school dropout.
Obama needs to withdraw from afgh in his plan.
WTF do any adults think dems can run a war better.
Barry needs to get Back to the anti war dems.
Last edited by Topspin; 08-22-2008 at 11:36 AM.
The stone that the builder refused
Will always be the head corner stone
God Bless America
I never went to public schools, asshole.
I was home-schooled and went to community college when I was 16.
Had a 4.0 GPA for four quarters, before I got lazy and slipped to 3.5 (I started getting mostly B+). And that's without even trying - I basically never studied.
So fuck off.
The Force is With Me
The Caspian Sea Pipeline is in Afghanistan .. and that's why we're there.
AMERICAN HISTORY ITSELF IS A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE, ALONG WITH THE COURGE AND SACRIFICES OF CONSCIOUS WHITE AMERICANS, LIKE VIOLA LIUZZO, EVERETT DIRKSEN, AND MANY OTHERS, HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER FOR OUR FREEDOM, AND FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
In America, rights are are not determined by what is just, fair, equitable, honest, nor by what Jesus would do. Rights are determined ONLY by what you can DEMAND.
Banned
Ah...another intellectual powerhouse from the right.
Reasonable
It actually explains a lot about the awkwardness of his interactions.
There is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.
-Oscar Wilde
The Force is With Me
If you support it, why isn't your punk ass there?I bet every time a solider dies, Blackascoal is first to stand up and applaud.
McDonalds can wait till you get back .. if you get back.
Just another hamburger ...
AMERICAN HISTORY ITSELF IS A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE, ALONG WITH THE COURGE AND SACRIFICES OF CONSCIOUS WHITE AMERICANS, LIKE VIOLA LIUZZO, EVERETT DIRKSEN, AND MANY OTHERS, HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER FOR OUR FREEDOM, AND FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
In America, rights are are not determined by what is just, fair, equitable, honest, nor by what Jesus would do. Rights are determined ONLY by what you can DEMAND.
The Force is With Me
... whose writing speaks belies his supposed education .. and 4.0
AMERICAN HISTORY ITSELF IS A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE, ALONG WITH THE COURGE AND SACRIFICES OF CONSCIOUS WHITE AMERICANS, LIKE VIOLA LIUZZO, EVERETT DIRKSEN, AND MANY OTHERS, HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER FOR OUR FREEDOM, AND FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
In America, rights are are not determined by what is just, fair, equitable, honest, nor by what Jesus would do. Rights are determined ONLY by what you can DEMAND.
Banned
True.
Verified User
you sound like some dumb fuck barely qualified for communi collegeI never went to public schools, asshole.
I was home-schooled and went to community college when I was 16.
Had a 4.0 GPA for four quarters, before I got lazy and slipped to 3.5 (I started getting mostly B+). And that's without even trying - I basically never studied.
So fuck off.
The stone that the builder refused
Will always be the head corner stone
Verified User
wait a minute, no he didn't. HIS MOMMY GAVE HIM A 4.0 BAHAHAHAH
The stone that the builder refused
Will always be the head corner stone
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