Afghanistan- The War We Could Have Won
Lately, Obama seems to be following the Vietnam-like path of letting his generals convince him over and over again that just a few more troops will win the day.
That way lies the same thing that happened in Vietnam- humiliating pictures of panicked people hanging on to helicopters, and another fifty year campaign by right wingers to blame it all on the Democrats.
Sad to say, there was once a way that we could have won the day in Afghanistan. If, after pushing the Taliban out, we had spent perhaps a hundred billion in Afghanistan, employing local workers, building roads and hospitals and schools, and a sustainable infrastructure, by now we would have left them with a modern country- a permanent proof for all to see that Western countries can have the best interests of others at heart.
Instead, George Bush and Dick Cheney decided to squander two trillion dollars on their aggression in Iraq, leaving just enough troops in Afghanistan to run around shooting the place up, to insure that the Afghan people hated us all the more.
It's too late. The Afghan people have made up their minds about us, and with damned good reason. Of course, the Republicans are going to blame all this on Obama, the way they are blaming the disaster that resulted from following Republican economic "principles" for eight years on him. That's his cross to bear, but the sad truth is that Afghanistan is one more utter disaster bought and paid for by Republicans.
Oops, did I say "paid for?" That should have read, "bought by Republicans, paid for by us."
That way lies the same thing that happened in Vietnam- humiliating pictures of panicked people hanging on to helicopters, and another fifty year campaign by right wingers to blame it all on the Democrats.
Sad to say, there was once a way that we could have won the day in Afghanistan. If, after pushing the Taliban out, we had spent perhaps a hundred billion in Afghanistan, employing local workers, building roads and hospitals and schools, and a sustainable infrastructure, by now we would have left them with a modern country- a permanent proof for all to see that Western countries can have the best interests of others at heart.
Instead, George Bush and Dick Cheney decided to squander two trillion dollars on their aggression in Iraq, leaving just enough troops in Afghanistan to run around shooting the place up, to insure that the Afghan people hated us all the more.
It's too late. The Afghan people have made up their minds about us, and with damned good reason. Of course, the Republicans are going to blame all this on Obama, the way they are blaming the disaster that resulted from following Republican economic "principles" for eight years on him. That's his cross to bear, but the sad truth is that Afghanistan is one more utter disaster bought and paid for by Republicans.
Oops, did I say "paid for?" That should have read, "bought by Republicans, paid for by us."
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