His pledge to send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan while simultaneously declaring troop withdrawal in 18 months is bound to please no one. ...
Mish.. It's hard for some to understand, having not been there in the region, but I'll make an attempt. As for Obama, I actually liked his speech. And as for projected withdrawal he discussed BEGINNING withdrawal of US troops by July, 2011, depending upon the situation at THAT time
It's a target for commencing "de-surging", not having all the troops home.
Furthermore, it's, in part, for regional consumption. The one thing that will help the Taliban recruit more ill-educated, but fierce, fighters is the belief that we're there to conquer and occupy (like the Russians) and never planning on leaving.
We have to ensure that the people of that region understand that we don't want to stay there, but it's up to them to create the conditions that permit us to leave.
Btw, we "surged" (I actually hate the term) in Iraq and it had dramatic effects that coincided with results finally being achieved via our courting of the Sunni tribal chiefs in the Anbar province.
I know your feelings on Afghanistan, but IMO, I'm convinced if we just tuck our tail and "pop smoke" there, it will only increase the belief amongst these Islamic militants that "Allah is with them" and "blessed" them in defeating the "Crusaders". We need to inflict a full defeat upon them in order to humiliate them in the eyes of the rest of those young impressionable Muslims sitting on the fence about waging Jihad wondering if this really what Allah wants them to do.
And it makes sense that Allah would not support a loser that couldn't defeat the "infidels".
The last thing we want to EVER SEE is Islam re-emphasizing it's violent beginnings. That's going to require assisting the forces of Islamic moderation and progressiveness, building it from scratch where necessary.
Can you imagine if militant Christians started quoting the Old Testament and demanding the utter destruction of the new "Canaanites"?? Or Sodom and Gomorrah? There are similarities and obviously Christianity and Judaism have "mellowed out" over the centuries.
It's a pain in the @ss, and a terrible loss of our cherished blood and treasure. But if we ignore this, the cost will be far higher down the line.
I say that as a guy who spent a lot of time in Iraq trying to understand what was motivating these folks.
Hawk |
