Afghanistan

The name alone sounds exotic, mysterious and vaguely sinister. Afghanistan is a country that has been difficult in many ways for many empires.

The name means “Land of the Afghans.”  “Istan” means “land of.” Afghans is the Persian name for Pushtuns, a dominate tribe in Afghanistan for centuries. Persians, of course, are now know as Iranians. The name dates from well before 1333, the first recorded use of the name, Afghans.

The Afghans have been frequently conquered by many an empires and subsequently have won their freedom from same. Most recently, they freed themselves from a ten year rule by the Soviets, only to be controlled by the Taliban.

Now, the Afghans are our problem.

It almost goes without saying that “winning” in Afghanistan is impossible. The Soviets killed a million Afghans and yet were chased out of the country by the Mujahideen. The US backed the Mujahideen, but failed to support them after the failure of the Soviets.

Now, the Afghans are our problem.

Our failure to support the Mujahideen led to the reemergence of tribal warlords in Afghanistan. Basically, Afghans swear allegiance to their tribal leaders and not to a centralized government.

Now, the United States is attempting to establish a centralized government without alienating the tribal communities.

The United States “War on Afghanistan” has been a disaster from virtually the beginning. The Taliban was routed within a few weeks, then we took our eye off the target and focused on Iraq.

The people of Afghanistan are used to this pattern – they are patient and resilient. It is a foregone conclusion that they will ultimately reclaim their lands from all foreign invaders.

Now, the Afghans are our problem.

War is different now. We are not trying to defeat an enemy as we did during World War II. We are attempting to control an ideology that is 1,400 years old. There will be no drive into Berlin or subjugation of Tokyo. There is no 38th parallel.

President Obama has made the right decision to begin withdrawing our troops from Afghanistan in mid-2011. We cannot, nor can anyone, win in that country.

The decision is simple – knock out those that sheltered al Qaeda and get out.

Thoughts?

William Stephenson Clark

I DON’T WANT THE TRUTH!

I envision the court room scene, Tom Cruise facing off against Jack Nicholson and saying,
“I DON’T’ WANT THE TRUTH!”
Nicholson’s response,
“YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

The exchange goes on and on till the scene fades to black.

Today on book TV there were two authors.  The first was  Lawrence Wright, author of “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11,” interviewed by James Zogby.

In “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11,” which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Lawrence Wright provides a detailed account of the events leading to the September 2001 attack on the United States. Mr. Wright discuses the book with James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute. Mr. Zogby serves as a guest interviewer and is not otherwise affiliated with C-SPAN.

Lawrence Wright is a staff writer for The New Yorker. He spent two years teaching at the American University in Cairo, Egypt and is a fellow at the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law. James Zogby is founder and president of the Arab American Institute. He is also the host of the television program, “Viewpoint with James Zogby,” and the author of a weekly column, “Washington Watch,” which is published in 14 Arab countries.

The second author was Jane Mayer, author of “The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals” was interviewed by Dana Priest.

Jane Mayer, staff writer for The New Yorker, takes a critical look at the Bush administrations war on terror in her book, “The Dark Side.” She discusses her book with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dana Priest of The Washington Post. This interview was taped at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC. The audience questioned Ms. Mayer and Ms. Priest after the taping.

I keep saying that there is really nothing being hidden, those behind many of these things allowed them to think there was no need to hide any of it. The best place to hide something is in plain sight.

Both authors books gave a basis for the current events and a understanding of how it happened. But both also presented evidence and information that is not part of what people want to believe. Wright has an interesting point, how tall is Bin Laden? It is said that we have been looking for someone who is 6’5”.  Interestingly of those interviewed who have seen OBL, say we should be looking for someone who is between 5’9” and 6’5”; the majority has him at 6’.  Why is that important you ask? Because if you do not know what and who you are looking for how can you find it?  He went on to explain several of the failings of both the U.S. Government and the people involved with Al-Qaeda, and casts a disputed light on the “War on Terrorism.”

Mayer paints a picture of a power play that is not about what is best for the country or about the fighting of terrorism.

When I have the time I will speak of what I see is the prevalence of selective reality.

tosmarttobegop

Osama bin Elvis..

Angelo Codevilla thinks that the chances of an earthly presence of Elvis Presley are greater than the likelihood of the same cosmic address for Osama bin Laden.  Codevilla provides opinion and evidence from a variety of experts on the data we have about bin Laden since December, 2001 as well as the history of accurate intelligence [sic] from the CIA.  Some of what we think of  as being true in the war on terror doesn’t even pass the nonsense test.

Read more here.

iggydonnelly