I believe that we should get out of Afghanistan but I don't delude myself

[cali]

that it will help the people of that country. It sucks now and it will be just as awful and in some ways and for some people, it will be even worse.

[ShortnFiery]

1. Now that's a perspective which makes sense ... even to me. ;) eom

[thereismore]

2. I think we should regroup. Seems like we are thinly spread in Afghanistan.

Concentrate on key areas and secure our own safety first. Then withdraw in an orderly manner. Hell, are there even any Al Qaeda left in Afghanistan?

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. Not much, but as soon as we leave there will be. Promise. nt

[JuniperLea]

3. I agree...

I've always felt that in both Iraq and Afghanistan, things are just too out of control to just pack it up and say, "see ya!"

Whatever happened to the idea of pulling troops to the periphery, and stand ready to assist? Seems many have concluded that what is required is a police action... investigations, intelligence gathering, etc. Doing it the brain way instead of the braun way, like we should have done in the beginning.

[timeforpeace]

12. That's what will happen. We will deploy that way in Iraq and Afghanistan, for a very long time.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

4. Agreed, which is why I'm not sure we ought to leave

I don't mind having a couple of bases there to maintain a capacity for countering things like wholesale killing of populations, should such arise.

And I don't mind the idea of a military presense as a strategic asset vis-a-vis Pakistan.

But none of that requires running around the country on foot looking for something useful to do. It seems like the door-to-door nation-building is something we think up to do only because we don't have the nerve to leave.

[asdjrocky]

5. We really fug that one up didn't we?

Makes you wonder why people hate America when all we try to do is help them.

[AllentownJake]

6. When I look at mistakes I've made or others have made

There are some I've seen that can be fixed in some way, there are others that anything that would be or could be done will only make the first mistake worse. Sometime the best thing to do is just realize you fucked up and get out.

[Windy]

7. as I stated in response to another post

I was in the military and strongly opposed the Iraq war but going into afghanistan after 911 was the right course. Unfortunately, Bush pulled out of there before taking care of Al Queda and the Taliban supporters who gave them safe haven. As a result, they fled to Pakistan. If Afghanistan falls and the Taliban returns to power, AlQ will return to Afghanistan as Pakistan is at least making some minor attempt to remove them from their country.

As awful as the situation is and as awful as war is, sometimes it is necessary to protect the country. In this instance,the efforts to get rid of terrorism effect the world. As a result, I am of the firm belief that the US should not have the majority of forces in Afghanistan nor should we bear the majority of the brunt for routing out terrorism around the globe. We need a greater effort by our allies. We should not be putting a significant number of US troops into theater. We need a greater contribution from France, England, et al.

I'm sure I'll get flamed, but this is my opinion.

Its not as easy as just pulling up stakes and getting out.

[AllentownJake]

8. What we need and what we will get are two different things

Afghanistan is even more politically unpopular in the other NATO nations than it is here, where it still has some support. At the end of the day the people in those nations have a say of whether their troops go to war and bear the consequences.

I'm at a point that I don't believe there is a military solution.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. No military solution, as you say.

And that has been our problem. The Bush policies made the military the solution, instead of the adjunct to the political solution. When there's a fight on the baseball diamond, the ref doesn't wade in and try to punch out the players - he's just there to separate them.

The military in Afghanistan should have a two-fold mission - getting Al Queda and preserving the peace, keeping the Taliban radicals from burning down schools and murdering politicians. We don't need to fight the Taliban unless they go after us. They are just one more faction. AQ is different, and they need to be eliminated. Troops are needed for that. Jet bombers, not so much.

[eomer]

11. The first step would be to get our resources working on the right goal.

The idea that the Bush administration, the CIA, the outsourced contractors of the CIA, and all the rest of the Military Industrial Complex just made a bunch of mistakes and bungled things in Afghanistan is utterly mistaken, IMO. They did just what they wanted and they got exactly the result they wanted -- a perpetual enemy and a long-running war.

I'm doubtful there is anything we can do to seize back control over the things that are done in our name (though behind our backs), and with our taxes, but the first step surely is to recognize the true source of the problem.

[rug]

13. Well, we can either stay and kill more people before Afghanistan is completely fucked up, or

not kill people and pull out now before Afghanistan is completely fucked up.

[Forkboy]

14. As a wise man once said, "A drowning man can take you under with him".

It's time to get out, imo.