Eugene Robinson: Declare Victory—and Leave

[babylonsister]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/declare_victory_--_and_leave_20110610/

Declare Victory—and Leave

By Eugene Robinson


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What on earth are we doing? We have more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan risking life and limb, at a cost of $10 billion a month, to pursue ill-defined goals whose achievement can be imagined, but just barely?

snip//

I take a different view. We should declare victory and leave.

We wanted to depose the Taliban regime, and we did. We wanted to install a new government that answers to its constituents at the polls, and we did. We wanted to smash al-Qaida’s infrastructure of training camps and safe havens, and we did. We wanted to kill or capture Osama bin Laden, and we did.

Even so, say the hawks, we have to stay in Afghanistan because of the dangerous instability across the border in nuclear-armed Pakistan. But does anyone believe the war in Afghanistan has made Pakistan more stable? Perhaps it is useful to have a U.S. military presence in the region. This could be accomplished, however, with a lot fewer than 100,000 troops—and they wouldn’t be scattered across the Afghan countryside, engaged in a dubious attempt at nation-building.

The threat from Afghanistan is gone. Bring the troops home.

[msongs]

1. the "victory" was achieved years ago (except for bin laden) - war profiteering keeps us there nt

[global1]

2. I've Always Thought That Afghanistan Is Just An Excuse To Keep An Eye And Thumb On Pakistan......

We surely couldn't go in and attack Pakistan which is a potential powder-keg in the region and in my mind pretty unstable. They are sitting on nuclear weapons and I don't think their government is all that stable and might be ripe for a regime change. Now we wouldn't want those nukes to fall into the wrong hands would we?

So the next best thing is say that we are there in Afghanistan because of the Taliban, al-Qaida and Osama. But our 100,000 troops are really there more to keep check on Pakistan so that they don't do anything stupid - like make threats on India and incite their age-old problems with the Indians. That presence might be just enough now to minimize the threat of Pakistan doing anything stupid.

Should we leave the region has anyone pondered what Pakistan's next move would be? I know that the war in Afghanistan hasn't made Pakistan more stable - but it might be keeping them in check for the time. I don't like the idea that are troops are at risk and I would like to bring them home as well - but - if bringing them home makes that whole region more unstable because we don't know what Pakistan might do - then maybe their presence in the region is warranted for the time being.

Ever play the board game Risk. Having a big army in an adjacent country is a pretty good deterrent to attack. Unfortunately we have to play this game with real live people instead of plastic markers. I often thought how cool it would be if all the countries of the world brought to the table their best gamers and just played the game Risk and let that be the determinant of who the winners and losers would be. It would sure end all the killing we've seen.

Ooooo... what a cool premise for a novel.

[StarsInHerHair]

3. kick kick cause I cant reccomend

[QuintanarooBoy]

4. Too late to Rec

Kickanyway

[Avant Guardian]

5. We are there to keep nuclear Pakistan from imploding

Afghanistan is just a jumping off point.