General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Sunday mouthpieces all say too many tours in war zone is bad, but none admit we need a draft. [View all]sad sally
(2,627 posts)He said it was the right war; he expanded the military (another surge, like Bush's in Iraq) in March 2009, and again in December 2009.
What did the surge accomplish? Has violence decreased? Have the Taliban been brought to the table for negotiations? Do the Afghan people now trust and believe the US is there to help build a stable, secure Afghanistan?
Sure, maybe al-Qaida in Afghanistan has been degraded, but its moved elsewhere, which means our secret CIA/special ops drone wars have increased all over the planet.
His Af-Pak strategy to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan," has created the fact that while the declared war is in Afghanistan, the US drone and other artillary strike as many targets (both al-Qaida and civilians) in Pakistan - a country we claim to be an ally.
Then there's the poppy cultivation - in 2011 it was up 7% from 2010 in Helmand province, which provides the raw material for more than 40% of the world's opium. So much for American intervention making alternative farming a more profitable use of the land.
Yes, Bush started Operation Enduring Freedom, but President Obama owns it.