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Sept. 2, 2009 Last year, when Obama said he was going to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, I thought this was a ploy to neutralize conservative accusations that he was soft on defense. Now, he is sticking to his word and following on the disastrous course laid out by the Neocons and the Bush administration. Obama’s lame excuse is that Afghanistan is a war of necessity. Necessity? Eight years ago, American troops invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban regime for harboring members of Al Qaida. Bin Ladin and a few of his Al Qaida followers left Afghanistan and are presumed to be guests in the tribal areas of Pakistan. What was left to do for the American troops? Initially welcomed as liberators, for eight years, American troops failed to leave and behaved like an occupying force. Fed up with the no longer welcome guests, Afghans unearthed their Kalashnikovs, reorganized as a new Taliban and began fighting for their independence. The Taliban has not shown any inclination for doing anything beyond Afghanistan’s borders. So why fight them? Of course, there is a hidden agenda planned by the Neocons. The Neocon dream is to establish an American Empire, which would become the benevolent ruler of this planet. The major stumbling blocks to this dream of Roman grandeur are Russia, China and India. The Neocons believe that if they establish a military presence in Central Asia, this will be a geopolitical masterstroke. By building a pipeline from the Central Asian oil and gas fields to the Persian Gulf they would simultaneously weaken Russia and project American power into Western China and gain support from India. In theory this may sound great to some influential Americans who still believe the age of empires is not over. The Reality. To achieve the dream of empire, first, Afghanistan must be subdued. In order to even hope for a victory there, an army of over 500,000 would be needed. The Soviets had a force of about that size scattered throughout the harsh Afghan wilderness and in the cities. They also had some tribes on their side. Eventually, the Soviets realized they couldn’t win and left. General McCrystal, the local American commander claims his strategy of hold and build will make a difference. The philosophy is sound, but in order to build you have to be able to hold. With the present level or foreseeable increase in troops, holding anything but minuscule bits of ground is just not feasible. American troops have done enough damage to the civilian population that a reversal in the hearts and minds of the Afghans is not going to happen. At the moment, one can only forecast that the hatred against the foreign invaders will remain at the same level at the very best. Americans will promise a lot, but will fail to deliver. With all the talk about new strategy, nothing is being done on the ground, nor resources given to do the building. This war costs money, it costs lives, it creates more enemies and weakens the United States. Politically, it is suicidal for President Obama. Already 51% of Americans thinks this war is not worth fighting. Starting with Admiral Mike Mullen, the American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all experts on the region see the situation as deteriorating.
The proponents of this war are driving the U.S. toward disaster and later will blame Obama for getting his country into another war of choice. It is already called by many: Obama’s War.
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