[The
Independent, U.K.]
The Frontier Post, Pakistan
Americans Will Pay Dearly For 'Flirting' with Afghan War
"Instead of
subduing and pacifying Afghanistan, the Americans undertook the invasion and
occupation of Iraq. They have lost opportunities that could have steered them
toward success - opportunities that will never return."
EDITORIAL
August 28, 2009
Pakistan -
The Frontier Post - Home Page (English)
America's top military commander, Admiral Mike Mullen, has bemoaned
the fact that the Taliban insurgency has become more lethal and sophisticated. But what can he expect when America and its
allies fought a war in Iraq but in Afghanistan they have only flirted with it?
In Iraq they lied themselves into
an invasion and occupation. In Afghanistan, they committed lies, deceits
and cover-ups - and got away with it thanks largely to a compliant corporate
media, obliging think tanks and conformist armchair strategic experts. And
although through this skullduggery they managed to remain unquestioned, they
are now in a ticklish quandary with no easy exit.
They invaded and occupied
Afghanistan, declaring it a lair of al-Qaeda's global terror network and vowing
to wipe out the threat it posed to global security. But instead of subduing and
pacifying Afghanistan, they undertook the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Ever
since, large swathes of Afghanistan have remained untouched and undisturbed in
the hands of the Taliban and other militant groups. It is there that they
remain unshakably entrenched along with their al-Qaeda allies.
Over the years, hundreds of thousands of sophisticated and
deadly weapons have vanished from the Afghan Defense Ministry and coalition armories,
with no clues as to whose hands they have fallen into.
The Americans doled out billions in aid, by some estimates $250
billion, that has served mostly to line the pockets of foreign NGOs, fatten the
purses of American construction firms, or been stolen by Afghan ministers and
civil servants. On the ground, there is no sign whatever that this colossal sum
has been spent. Yet no questions have been asked or inquiries made of the
glaring incompetence and ineptitude of American leaders and officials.
'AFGHAN ELECTIONS'
[Hoje
Macau, Macau]
If these bosses have been busy playing Nero's lyre with
their Afghan enterprise, they've also fiddled with their own lawmakers, media
and commentariat. Now the chickens have come home to
roost for all of them. They have lost opportunities that could have steered
them toward success - opportunities that will never return.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Not for months, but for years, the American invaders allowed
turbines and machinery for a huge hydropower and irrigation project in Helmand Province
to rust. Had the machines been installed it may have prevented Helmand from
becoming the world's largest grower of poppy and supplier of drugs. This
flirting with war in Afghanistan is sure to cost the Americans dearly.
Furthermore, the Americans simply cannot raise the army of
400,000 that experts believe will be required to quell the Taliban and other
militant groups. And the NATO community is no mood to contribute large numbers
of troops or large quantities of military hardware.
Al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, describes how
the latest offensive of Pakistan and the 'neo-crusaders' is
a 'path of doom,' Aug. 28. 00:20:25
[Via MEMRI. Free registration required].
[CLICK HERE
OR CLICK PHOTO TO WATCH]
The Afghan Army will take years to become a genuine fighting
force. Based on their own sources, the Americans can't
build a force sufficient for the task; and even less so now, as the Afghan war is
rapidly becoming unpopular with the American people. According to the latest
opinion polls, more than 51 percent are opposed. And this opposition is likely
to snowball as American casualties and the costs of the war escalate. Indeed, 95
lawmakers in the House of Representatives have moved a bipartisan bill asking the
administration for an exit strategy.
So chances are that were coalition forces to exit Afghanistan,
the country would be like a gaping wound tormenting its neighbors - most of all
Pakistan, which has already suffered hugely from this war. Like Afghanistan,
Pakistan would become a breeding ground for foreign fueled terrorism and
insurgency.
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US September 1, 10:29pm]
