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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: R.V.M. who wrote (201896)	11/10/2001 8:47:52 PM
From: Ish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769668

The Northern Alliance has Mazar-e-Sharif. Bush wan'ts a new government in power. He'll get it. No problem.

To: R.V.M. who wrote (201896)	11/10/2001 11:04:47 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769668

R.V.M. I had the same reaction initially myself. But after thinking about it, the strategy makes sense. Remember, this was going to be a war like one we had never seen before. Most of us are still locked into the war models of WW2. This strategy has the fingerprint of Powell/Schwarzkopf written all over it. They're thinking strategically, not tactically. First: What is our goal? Our goal is to destroy terrorist networks, and the regimes that support them. Now the question. Does the Northern alliance taking Kabul serve that purpose? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Points to consider... 1. The Northern Alliance is broken into 4 different factions, if one faction enters first and takes the city, how will they respond when the other factions enter later? 2. The last time the Northern Aliance was in Kabul, something like 40,000 Afghans were killed. How will 40 thousand deaths during Ramadan effect our coalition partners, world opinion, and our long-term goals? 3. When a faction enters Kabul, the Taliban could simply switch sides in large numbers, and blend into the Northern Alliance. Thus, becoming a large part of the new government. 4. If they elect to run from the city and seek refuge in nearby Pakistan, Pakistan could destabilize even further and the war could widen unexpectedly. Surrounding the city will prevent a huge refugee problem. Additionally, Pakistani sypathizers who may want to join the Taliban would be cut off from that direct route if we surrounded the city. 5. Kabul is the Capital. If the Northern Alliance takes the city, they in effect become the government of Afghanistan. How will we ensure the Al-Queda network is destroyed, if they don't want us to hang around any longer? 6. The Taliban stronghold is Mazar-i Sharif. Why not keep the momentum going, surround Kabul with minimum casualties and go after the Taliban at their core? This strategy is similar to what we did in the Gulf War. We spread out the coalition partners and entered the city of Kuwaiit as one multinational entity. Thus eliminating the possibility one army would act dishonorably and ruin our moral authority to lead the peaceful transition of power.