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To: Peter V who wrote (104823)	9/4/2009 3:30:44 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110194

As my pro-Bush boss noted a couple years back though, like Iraq, Afghanistan is an effective "bug killer," as lots of anti-US fighters come to the area where we can zap them. Of course, they zap a few of us along the way. You can never really win a guerilla war. That's a good explanation. However, it doesn't go far enough. One of the major reasons we need to be engaged in Afghanistan is that it forces Al Q'aida to defend their home turf. Remember the psychology of these religious fanatics. They truly believe that Allah is on their side and using his supernatural powers through them to achieve the restoration of the Caliphate and eventual global domination of Islam. That's a powerful historical symbol that appeals to many Muslims, restoration of a glorious past full of conquest. But when they can't even hold their own turf, let alone find themselves launching terrorist attacks upon fellow muslims, it completely undermines the moral authority of their cause. It's one of the greatest offenses in Islam to murder a fellow muslim. AQSL (Al Q'aida Senior Leadership) discovered how readily Zarqawi's attacks upon dissident Sunnis alienated the tribal chieftains. This is why we see far less support for Al Q'aida, as well as diminshing support for other militant Qutbist influenced groups in recent years. When a Mujihadin starts killing muslims in the name of Allah, the rest of the muslim word finally figures out that they are just thugs. What is truly worrisome about Afghanistan is the continuation of the Pashtun, Tajik, Usbek, rivalry. The majority of the Taliban prior to 2001 came from Pashtun tribes in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's the undercurrent that feeds a lot of the fighting because it's essentially a power struggle. And of course, how do we wean that population off the cultivation of poppies. It's a long tradition that will be hard to curtail. Hawk

To: Peter V who wrote (104823)	9/4/2009 3:49:39 PM
From: Gib Bogle	9 Recommendations Respond to of 110194

You touched on the most pertinent point. The USSR was on the side of people the US government now sees (and any person not blinded by cold war ideology could then see) as our natural allies, against the lunatic religious fundamentalists. One of the main reasons for the rebellion against the USSR-supported government of Afghanistan was that women were allowed to go to school. Stupid immoral short-sighted US foreign policy contributed greatly to the disaster the Taliban inflicted on the Afghanis, that al Qaeda inflicted on the US, that the US inflicted on Iraq ... There is a good chance that without US interference the situation in Afghanistan would have been contained, and the country would have continued its progress towards a modern secular state. To what extent are these basic facts recognized by the current policy makers, let alone by the astoundingly ignorant and brainwashed US citizenry?