RRD:In response to the riots by maniacs in Afghanistan some have called for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
They have said in effect "why are we fighting for these barbarians". We aren't. We did not invade Afghanistan to help the Afghans. We did it because nearly 3,000 American men,women and children,the vast majority of whom were civilians,were slaughtered.
The organization that did that--Al-Qaeda--still exists.
Its allies,the Taliban,still exist.
We know the answer to the question "why are we in Afghanistan":we are there to prevent Al-Qaeda from re-adding that country as a safe haven, in ADDITION to their safe haven in Pakistan.
A more salient question would be:"Why are Al-qaeda,and the Taliban,still in existence?"
Ignoring Al-qaeda,no matter how war weary Americans are,will no more cause it to go away,then ignoring cancer will cause it to disappear. If the majority of Americans choose to go down this path,then they should know that this is really not a new path at all. It is exactly what we did pre-9/11. We reached out to "the moderate Taliban",and said to them,as we are now being urged to say to them again,that if they handed over Bin Laden,that we would have no problem with them. The Taliban refused. After 9/11 they refused again. After we drove them from Kabul they refused and they are refusing even now. We tried to kill Bin Laden with Tomahawk cruise missiles,to no avail. The result of not invading Afghanistan was not ”peace”.
It was a wholesale slaughter of American civilians & Pentagon military personnel.
None of this means that we should pursue the current strategy.
But simply withdrawing,and ignoring Al-qaeda,is not the answer.
Nor is appeasement either moral,or in the long term,practical.
And if you wish to launch into the "if you are so gung ho why don't you go there"argument,my response would be as follows. *I long ago lost any illusions about war being a action adventure game.I am not "gung ho" about war.
If I support a war it is because I fear the alternative will be more death and killing of Americans.
*This is not Vietnam,or Iraq.
This war was launched in response to a deliberate civilian massacre on U.S. soil.
All of us are potential targets.Including children. *I do not support a draft,nor do I lecture people on "their need to join(or continue serving in) the military".
If someone who serves in the military chooses not to re-enlist,I would understand their decision entirely.
But that does not alter the fact that the role of the Military is to defend the civilian population from being murdered.
If there was ever a justified war of self-defense,this is it.
I am not a police officer,or a fire fighter,but I nonetheless expect those who choose to become police officers,or fire fighters to arrest criminals and to put out fires.
This is neither cowardice or hyprocrisy.
It WOULD be both,if like some did during Vietnam,I exempted myself from the draft,and then lectured people on their duty to serve in combat,or on the importance of the war.
But that is not the case here.
And if some would accuse me of "indifference" to the well being of our soldiers,then my response would be:I know what my emotional reactions are to the sight of dead or wounded soldiers.
And also to dead or wounded civilians.
Not the least of whom were murdered on 9/11.
I am no more "indifferent" then those who sincerely believe that we should withdraw,are "indifferent" to another 9/11. Those who do believe that the war needs to be fought do owe our soldiers one obligation:we must make sure that their lives are not being sacrificed on a flawed strategy.
And I think it is time to reevaluate our current strategy.
That does not mean that it should be jettisoned wholesale.
There may be valuable lessons to be learned and integrated from COIN (Counter Insurgency) doctrine.
But it must be throughly reviewed.
As for those who kill our soldiers they should be located & killed as soon as possible.
They have said in effect "why are we fighting for these barbarians". We aren't. We did not invade Afghanistan to help the Afghans. We did it because nearly 3,000 American men,women and children,the vast majority of whom were civilians,were slaughtered.
The organization that did that--Al-Qaeda--still exists.
Its allies,the Taliban,still exist.
We know the answer to the question "why are we in Afghanistan":we are there to prevent Al-Qaeda from re-adding that country as a safe haven, in ADDITION to their safe haven in Pakistan.
A more salient question would be:"Why are Al-qaeda,and the Taliban,still in existence?"
Ignoring Al-qaeda,no matter how war weary Americans are,will no more cause it to go away,then ignoring cancer will cause it to disappear. If the majority of Americans choose to go down this path,then they should know that this is really not a new path at all. It is exactly what we did pre-9/11. We reached out to "the moderate Taliban",and said to them,as we are now being urged to say to them again,that if they handed over Bin Laden,that we would have no problem with them. The Taliban refused. After 9/11 they refused again. After we drove them from Kabul they refused and they are refusing even now. We tried to kill Bin Laden with Tomahawk cruise missiles,to no avail. The result of not invading Afghanistan was not ”peace”.
It was a wholesale slaughter of American civilians & Pentagon military personnel.
None of this means that we should pursue the current strategy.
But simply withdrawing,and ignoring Al-qaeda,is not the answer.
Nor is appeasement either moral,or in the long term,practical.
And if you wish to launch into the "if you are so gung ho why don't you go there"argument,my response would be as follows. *I long ago lost any illusions about war being a action adventure game.I am not "gung ho" about war.
If I support a war it is because I fear the alternative will be more death and killing of Americans.
*This is not Vietnam,or Iraq.
This war was launched in response to a deliberate civilian massacre on U.S. soil.
All of us are potential targets.Including children. *I do not support a draft,nor do I lecture people on "their need to join(or continue serving in) the military".
If someone who serves in the military chooses not to re-enlist,I would understand their decision entirely.
But that does not alter the fact that the role of the Military is to defend the civilian population from being murdered.
If there was ever a justified war of self-defense,this is it.
I am not a police officer,or a fire fighter,but I nonetheless expect those who choose to become police officers,or fire fighters to arrest criminals and to put out fires.
This is neither cowardice or hyprocrisy.
It WOULD be both,if like some did during Vietnam,I exempted myself from the draft,and then lectured people on their duty to serve in combat,or on the importance of the war.
But that is not the case here.
And if some would accuse me of "indifference" to the well being of our soldiers,then my response would be:I know what my emotional reactions are to the sight of dead or wounded soldiers.
And also to dead or wounded civilians.
Not the least of whom were murdered on 9/11.
I am no more "indifferent" then those who sincerely believe that we should withdraw,are "indifferent" to another 9/11. Those who do believe that the war needs to be fought do owe our soldiers one obligation:we must make sure that their lives are not being sacrificed on a flawed strategy.
And I think it is time to reevaluate our current strategy.
That does not mean that it should be jettisoned wholesale.
There may be valuable lessons to be learned and integrated from COIN (Counter Insurgency) doctrine.
But it must be throughly reviewed.
As for those who kill our soldiers they should be located & killed as soon as possible.
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