Nasir @ 12:00 CET
by George McGovern | The Washington Post, Jan 22, 2009
As you settle into the Oval Office, Mr. President, may I offer a suggestion? Please do not try to put Afghanistan aright with the U.S. military. To send our troops out of Iraq and into Afghanistan would be a near-perfect example of going from the frying pan into the fire. There is reason to believe some of our top military commanders privately share this view. And so does a broad and growing swath of your party and your supporters.
True, the United States is the world’s greatest power — but so was the British Empire a century ago when it tried to pacify the warlords and tribes of Afghanistan, only to be forced out after excruciating losses. For that matter, the Soviet Union was also a superpower when it poured some 100,000 troops into Afghanistan in 1979. They limped home, broken and defeated, a decade later, having helped pave the way for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It is logical to conclude that our massive military dominance and supposedly good motives should let us work our will in Afghanistan. But logic does not always prevail in South Asia. With belligerent Afghan warlords sitting atop each mountain glowering at one another, the one factor that could unite them is the invasion of their country by a foreign power, whether British, Russian or American.
I have believed for some time that military power is no solution to terrorism. The hatred of U.S. policies in the Middle East — our occupation of Iraq, our backing for repressive regimes such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, our support of Israel — that drives the terrorist impulse against us would better be resolved by ending our military presence throughout the arc of conflict. This means a prudent, carefully directed withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and elsewhere. We also need to close down the imposing U.S. military bases in this section of the globe, which do so little to expand our security and so much to stoke local resentment.
We cannot evade this reckoning. The British thought they could extend their control over Iraq even while pulling out their ground forces by creating a string of bases in remote parts of the country, away from the observation of most Iraqis. It didn’t work. No people that desires independence and self-determination wishes to have another nation’s military bases in its country. In 1776, remember, 13 little colonies drove the mighty British Empire from American soil.
In 2003, the Bush administration ordered an invasion of Iraq, supposedly to reduce terrorism. But six years later, there is more terrorism and civil strife in Iraq, not less. The same outcome may occur in Afghanistan if we make it the next American military conflict.
Suzie-Que's Truth and Justice Blog 
Suzie-Q,
Great find!
George is right on. We need to get out of their countries. They don’t want us there.
We have a navy capable of virtually any assault or conflict resolution on the planet. We do NOT need to occupy their lands.
Period!
PS: My wife is a Susan and hates to called Susie or Suzie-Q (one bit of B’Man’s miscellaneous information that may have been deemed unworthy of posting)
🙂
1. The British Empires problem was not just one region of malcontent, it was every region of malcontent. They were hard pressed to try and hold against multiple rebellions in a short period of time.
2. The U.S.S.R lost in Afghanistan because the other world superpower (us) supported anything that would damage Russia.
3. We have been fighting in Afghanistan for some time without huge problems from Afghan Warlords.
4. Those “thirteen little colonies” should have had no chance at victory, only with the Lord’s help did they prevail.
5. Ignoring problems does not make them go away. Withdrawing all soldiers in only a few years could result in a genocide similair to Darfur.
6. I would disagree, have you seen the latest statistics?
6. With terror and strife in Iraq being hightened, that is.