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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (52426)	10/16/2002 2:05:59 PM
From: Win Smith	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Do you want us to "Police" the entire country? That is a recipe to make sure the people hate us. Isn't that the plan for Iraq, though? Aside from which, having a few special forces on the ground calling in airstrikes on random wedding parties and tribal elder caravans at the behest of whatever warlord faction is in favor didn't seem entirely endearing in Afghanistan either.

To: LindyBill who wrote (52426)	10/16/2002 2:32:42 PM
From: jcky	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 281500

These complaints that we are not acting as a "National Nanny" in Afghanistan continue to astound me. Do you want us to "Police" the entire country? That is a recipe to make sure the people hate us. I think you are confusing the concept of nation-building with policing actions, LB. I am certainly not in favor of a worldwide nanny effort unless it can be shown to be in this country's best interests. But an intelligent argument can be made for proper nation-building efforts in Afghanistan. One of the conditions which led to al-Qaida terrorist training camps in Afghanistan was the fact that it was a failed nation-state. Without a cohesive governance to provide security, socioeconomic development, or maintenance of law and order for its citizens, it was very easy for terrorist organizations to establish deep roots in a pseudo-nation still focusing on self-identity rather than combating terrorism. If you believe failed nation-states are responsible for harboring organizations like al-Qaida then it makes sense to invest the money, infrastructure, and time to rebuild these nations into self-sustaining entities to prevent the conditions fertile for terrorist proclivities. you want us to throw "Foreign Aid" at them? That is a recipe to pour money down a rathole. One can argue we are exactly doing the same with our foreign aid to Israel. And your point is?