Karzai's Instant Karma
Published April 29, 2008
Pakistan's The Nation supports Lord Ashdown's pessimism, noting in an editorial posted on 26 Apr 2008 by Kashmir Watch that:
A majority of NATO allies are unwilling to deal with a situation that has no immediate remedy and is getting dangerous with every passing day. The situation would be much more difficult for the occupation forces to manage polls in Karzai's favour [in the pending election].New Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd calls the Afghanistan situation 'grim' and declared that Australia's military commitment in Afghanistan was "not open ended".
Australian citizens are saying the things that Americans should be saying [comments from last linked article]:
Afghanistan has been the graveyard of many who have tried to control the place, so I think an understanding of history is probably the biggest single weapon you can take into this conflict. - GDH, 28 Apr 2008 11:52:55amBut you won't find many such comments coming from Americans. They are more tuned in to the juvenile emotional "warfare" of Dancing with the Stars than they are the war fought with Your Money to control the increasingly-expensive petroleum they mindlessly dump into their oversize military-wannabee highway war toys.As a Vietnam vet I heard all this shit in the 60's - a government trying to convince the population that this war was justified and important for Australia's freedom, democracy and way of life. Believe me, this is a load of crap. There are no winners in war except those who provide the weapons of death. - Zeb, 28 Apr 2008 11:23:43am
I think It's about time we got our troops out of there. Weve [sic] been fighting someone else's war since 2001... - Nathan, 28 Apr 2008 11:08:39am
We support the troops but we don't support the governments that put them in harms way for business interests. Our troups [sic] are more valuable than that. Let the corporations fund their own mercenaries. Leave our "defence" forces and taxes out of it. - Owen, 28 Apr 2008 2:32:36pm
- Karzai's Instant Karma
- Published: April 29, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Politics
- Filed Under: Politics: Energy and Environment, Politics: International, Politics: Policy, Politics: U.S., Politics: War and Terrorism
- Writer: Realist
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Comments on this articleComments
"There's a whole lot of folks over here and no two alike."
Except twins
Realist - Several people died in an attack on President Karzai. The Taliban has claimed credit for the attack. But you've decided, without evidence, that the US is behind it. You "expect to discover" motive, but have none as yet. And this is the basis for your article?
Karzai has never been a puppet. The US, in its wisdom, didn't try to invade and install a puppet government, because that rarely works - and never works in Afghanistan. Instead, we supported 16 of the 17 warring tribes, and the Taliban was ousted. It's frustrating, not facing rows of European troops wearing bright colors in the middle of a field. But that's not the way modern warfare works. We do what we can in Afghanistan, supporting the better people over the worse, and hoping it pays off.
This give the lie to the idea that the US distracted itself in Iraq, when it should have poured more troops and money into Afghanistan. That approach wouldn't have helped in Afghanistan, and Iraq would still be under a brutal dictator.
As for the Australians complaining about Afghanistan, all I can say is that STM is a mighty speller compared to this sample of his countrymen.
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Realist,
America is a big country. There's a whole lot of folks over here and no two alike. And, yes, there are many Americans who are very vocal about ending this war -- that's how we ended up with a Democrat controlled Congress in the last election cycle. Every vote for the Dems was a damnation of the war.
Bush has very low approval ratings and many of us over here are counting the days until he has to pack his stuff and cronies and move out of the White House.
It will be a great relief to see him, his administration, and his screwed-up war leave the American scene. Hopefully, we will improve our work and our reputation under the leadership of a new president. Check back with us in November!