Note to Obama: Look up the word 'hubris.'
I want a bumper sticker that says “Honk if you give a crap what happens to Afghanistan.” My guess is that I could drive across America in relative silence. Afghanistan is a landlocked nation with few natural resources (other than opium), no strategic value, as many warring tribes as Somalia, and a putative president (Karzai) who’s as corrupt as a Wall Street boardroom.
For all of this, President Obama has announced he intends to “finish the job” in Afghanistan and keep American troops there. What job, exactly, are we finishing? Stopping terrorists? Ummm, more of them are in Pakistan than Afghanistan and unless we decide to level the mountain borders this is isn’t going to happen. Are we “bringing democracy” to Afghanistan? Good luck with that! Stability? See warring tribes. We are accomplishing exactly two things in Afghanistan: the depletion of American military personnel and fostering a hatred of American occupiers that breeds more terrorists.
President Obama needs to familiarize himself with the term hubris, cut his losses, and get us out of this sinkhole. Now! Is it possible to conquer Afghanistan? Sure—numerous groups have done so: the Medes, Alexander the Great, the Turks, the Mongols…. Is possible to rule it? Nope. Check the history books. Is it possible to get your butt handed to you on a platter? That’s the most likely scenario. What, other than arrogance, makes the United States think it can fill a void that the Romans, the British, and the Soviets could not?
If we leave would Afghanistan become a hotbed for terrorists? Probably. And that would be different how? There are far more effective ways to deal with terror than sending U.S. troops into a cobra pit. If we wanted to be mercenary about it, we’d just arm some of the tribes who hate the Taliban. In truth, however, they’d end up hating us even if they destroyed the Taliban. Or has everyone forgotten that we helped arm the Taliban back in the days in which they were battling the Soviets? Let’s face facts: Afghanistan is a failed state whose future is bleak no matter what we do. It’s time to leave and allow Malthusianism to take its inevitable toll.
Count me among those losing faith in President Obama. He continues to squander resources in two conflicts, Afghanistan and Iraq, from which he pledged to extract us, and his moral presumptiveness is approaching Bush-levels of arrogance.
For all of this, President Obama has announced he intends to “finish the job” in Afghanistan and keep American troops there. What job, exactly, are we finishing? Stopping terrorists? Ummm, more of them are in Pakistan than Afghanistan and unless we decide to level the mountain borders this is isn’t going to happen. Are we “bringing democracy” to Afghanistan? Good luck with that! Stability? See warring tribes. We are accomplishing exactly two things in Afghanistan: the depletion of American military personnel and fostering a hatred of American occupiers that breeds more terrorists.
President Obama needs to familiarize himself with the term hubris, cut his losses, and get us out of this sinkhole. Now! Is it possible to conquer Afghanistan? Sure—numerous groups have done so: the Medes, Alexander the Great, the Turks, the Mongols…. Is possible to rule it? Nope. Check the history books. Is it possible to get your butt handed to you on a platter? That’s the most likely scenario. What, other than arrogance, makes the United States think it can fill a void that the Romans, the British, and the Soviets could not?
If we leave would Afghanistan become a hotbed for terrorists? Probably. And that would be different how? There are far more effective ways to deal with terror than sending U.S. troops into a cobra pit. If we wanted to be mercenary about it, we’d just arm some of the tribes who hate the Taliban. In truth, however, they’d end up hating us even if they destroyed the Taliban. Or has everyone forgotten that we helped arm the Taliban back in the days in which they were battling the Soviets? Let’s face facts: Afghanistan is a failed state whose future is bleak no matter what we do. It’s time to leave and allow Malthusianism to take its inevitable toll.
Count me among those losing faith in President Obama. He continues to squander resources in two conflicts, Afghanistan and Iraq, from which he pledged to extract us, and his moral presumptiveness is approaching Bush-levels of arrogance.
exactly my opinion.
ReplyDeletewell said.