Mr. McKee amongst others continue to spread the lie that we gave the Taliban money.
We in fact did no such thing. What we did do, is provide humanitarian aid, through the UN to Afghanistan. Most of this aid, was in the form of grain and similar assistance type items.
"We provide our aid to the people of Afghanistan, not to Afghanistan's warring factions. Our aid bypasses the Taliban "
state.gov
Mr. Mckee has been presented with this evidence, but continues to ignore it.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but it is a very important distinction. We in fact, have provided no aid to the Taliban. The reason it is important, is because the implication is that, we supported the Tali, and that support, contributed, at least in part to the situation we face today. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Much of foreign policy is choosing from unsavory choices at best. We now are faced with the same choices that have always been.
If we accept that Afghanistan kicks out Bin Laden, and take no action against the Tali, then, we by default favor them and allow them to continue to fight the "alliance" rebels of the north. Part of the group in the north, is in fact the officially recognized government of Afghanistan.
On the other hand, if we attack the Tali, we by default side with the northern alliance. This alliance is really a bit of a hodge podge of groups. Some of them, perhaps just a minority, are no more desirable than the Taliban. But minority status was also the case for the Taliban. Then if this alliance takes over, who is to predict, what faction will be dominant and take over ?
No matter what we do, it is forseeable that we could have the exact same situation and conversation in 10 years.
These are the same choices again. The same as supporting Iraq over Iran. Lets remember Iran, death to america, hostages, state sponsored terrorism and death warrants on people like Salmon Rushtie (sp?). Same decision as allowing Saddam to survive to keep Iran in check.
Or supporting the Mujahideen against the Soviets. It is easy to say this was wrong, 15 years after the cold war. But had we not fought the soviets in this and other proxy wars, would they still exist, and what would I world be like ? I don't know, but from the perspective of MOST of the people of the former states of the Soviet Union, the world looks a whole lot better now than it did before.
Monday morning quarterbacking is easy. But we have to make these decisions now. |
