soundoff (15 Responses)

1. Jim
   

   General David Patraeus maybe our best hope to meld the military and civilian aspects of the Afghanistan War into a cohesive force. Provided, Obama and Congress let him do his job.
   For those who want to get out of Afqhanistan in a hurry, remember, the British tried for over a hundered years to defeat the Afqhans and were not successful. The Soviets also tried and were defeated.

   June 30, 2010 at 1:05 pm | Report abuse |
   • Darrell
     

     We're not trying to defeat the Afghans. we trying to help them set up a stable country they can run for themselves. And at the same time KILL BIN LADEN. the folks we're doing battle with are for the most part, NOT Afghans. The Soviets were trying to impose Communism on Muslims. The British were simply invaders. America wants Afghan's to rule themselves.

     June 30, 2010 at 1:12 pm | Report abuse |
   • John
     

     Jim: If the Brits couldn't do it with a 100-year effort, and the Soviets were unable to do it with their own 30-year effort, how could we think we can achieve a better outcome within ANY reasonable timeframe? There are things in this world that simply cannot be done. Molding Afghanistan into a free and democratic society that meets with our satisfaction is one of those things. Better to completely withdraw, use our money to fix our own country, and aggressively respond to any direct threat or attacks as they occur. We cannot invade and open-endedly occupy every country that attacks us. It's an unsustainable doctrine.

     June 30, 2010 at 1:14 pm | Report abuse |
   • Bo
     

     One major difference between us and Brits & Soviets is that we are there not to occupy. The Brits & Soviets were there to occupy.

     June 30, 2010 at 1:33 pm | Report abuse |
   • John
     

     Bo: We've been there for 9 years. If that's not an occupation, I don't know what else to call it. If China invaded the U.S. and stayed for 9 years, I'm pretty sure you'd say it's an occupation.

     June 30, 2010 at 2:00 pm | Report abuse |
2. Tim
   

   Thank goodness we are not trying to defeat the Afghans!

   June 30, 2010 at 1:11 pm | Report abuse |
3. Matt
   

   And why not...we only want generals that will prolong the useless and meaningless war while our youth heads off to die for the heroin trade.

   June 30, 2010 at 1:18 pm | Report abuse |
   • Jim
     

     Well, at least you are not parroting the "it's all about the OIL" myth.
     As for the heroin, all the government has to do is to legalize and then tax it to eliminate the problem, just as it worked for alcohol and tobbaco in the US.

     June 30, 2010 at 1:51 pm | Report abuse |
4. Roger Ritter
   

   I believe Gen. Petraeus will have full command of his faculties, his mouth and his subordinates! The best of luck to him.

   June 30, 2010 at 1:19 pm | Report abuse |
5. John
   

   Darrell: The Soviets were trying to impose communism on Muslims. Communism is simply a form of government, as is democracy. Personally, I prefer democracy, but I'm not gonna shove it down somebody else's throat, either. I lived in the Middle East for 7 years as an active duty soldier in the 80s and 90s and I'm here to tell you, Muslim culture is simply incompatible with long-term democratic success. There may be some Muslims there that would like to give it a try, but the overwhelming majority of Muslims just want to be left alone to live the lives they are already living. They don't want to have a foreign way of life (or government) forced upon them "for their own good".

   June 30, 2010 at 1:21 pm | Report abuse |
6. Realistic
   

   Years from now we will still be talking about this as our body counts mount and families are destroyed. If only Bush had done the right thing, gone after our real enemies with our full force instead of dividing our forces to fight his own private war. Hopefully in 2012 we will keep President Obama in the WH because if another republican gets in the WH, He or She might divide our forces again to fight another private war, maybe this time will be Ghana since they beat USA soccer team. You know republicans can't wait to start another war and I bet Ghana is in their cross hair

   June 30, 2010 at 1:23 pm | Report abuse |
   • Matt
     

     *facepalm*

     June 30, 2010 at 1:25 pm | Report abuse |
7. Greenisimo Nature Blog @Greenisimo
   

   Proves there's not a single smart politician out there. If one had just voted "nay," he'd get all kinds of free press coverage: 98:1 ... sheesh

   June 30, 2010 at 1:33 pm | Report abuse |
8. Steve Brian
   

   http://www.englishtips-self-taught.blogspot.com

   June 30, 2010 at 1:40 pm | Report abuse |
9. John
   

   Afghanistan was a righteous invasion for the singular and exclusive purpose of wielding Osama bin Laden's head on the end of a pointy stick for the entire world to see. Everything else we've done there is simply a distraction to that primary goal. I don't care if they harvest narcotics there...I'm not interested in using my tax dollars to build them new schools and hospitals and police stations and roads and wells, nor to fund their crooked politicians, nor to recruit and train their military...as an American citizen, all I wanted was the satisfaction of seeing Osama bin Laden's head mounted on the hood of some PFC's Humvee. Since that's obviously no longer the focus of our mission there, we should simply close down our military ops and come home. Too many young American men are dying there, too much American money being spent there.

   June 30, 2010 at 1:57 pm | Report abuse |