Speaking of Reaping... Taliban taking over larger areas in Pakistan.

[cre8tiff]

 

Now THIS ticks me off.

 

If we had crushed the Taliban in Afghanistan instead of opening the second front, perhaps this could have been avoided.

[WaterMan]

It's hard to kill an idea or religion just by killing people.

[Perchoutofwater]

I heard Barry is going to talk to them, tell them how bad we've been in the past, and ask them to give us another chance. I have no worries.

Edited April 23, 2009 by Perchoutofwater

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

Not good.

[Avernus]

I heard Barry is going to talk to them, tell them how bad we've been in the past, and ask them to give us another chance. I have no worries.

 

this is a great idea actually....

 

"we're turning over a new leaf over in the West, even our President is a umm....he's a Democrat now....friends?"

[Ursa Majoris]

Those nukes will not fall into Taliban hands - India will make sure of that.

[polksalet]

Who cares, terrorism no longer exists.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

Who cares, terrorism no longer exists.

Yeah, Dubya took care of that.

[polksalet]

Yeah, Dubya took care of that.

 

I thought he started it?

[Jimmy Neutron]

Those nukes will not fall into Taliban hands - India will make sure of that.

 

...with an orange glow on the horizon.

[Dr. Sacrebleu]

I heard Barry is going to talk to them, tell them how bad we've been in the past, and ask them to give us another chance. I have no worries.

 

While the pakistan situation has been a very complicated one since 2001 where we gave, oh pretty much everything that Pakistan wanted to Musharaf, while demanding precious little in exchange for fear of upsetting our ally, and wanting to avoid exacerbating the extremist local population for fear that they would overthrow the govt, I find your mocking tone about this issue a little off.

Or let's put it another way, could you please enlighten us as to Bush's policy regarding Pakistan over the last 7 years in two equally flip sentences?

 

Here's my best go at it.

 

Bush to Musharaf: Sure go ahead and overthrow the government, and build nukes, and protect the taliban and bin laden. we won't get angry. we don't want to upset you.

 

 

Dang! that's three sentences

[WaterMan]

Bush to Musharaf: Sure go ahead and overthrow the government, and build nukes, and protect the taliban and bin laden. we won't get angry. we don't want to upset you.

 

I am still about why we went to Iraq instead of Iran if it was about WMDs. But with the country in so much debt, how will we stop a country that is actually threatening to shoot at us?

[Savage Beatings]

 

Now THIS ticks me off.

 

If we had crushed the Taliban in Afghanistan instead of opening the second front, perhaps this could have been avoided.

 

Here's one conservative that totally agrees with you on this.

[Pope Flick]

Those nukes will not fall into Taliban hands - India will make sure of that.

 

 

+1 Any semblance of the "next world war" begins in the place on earth where nearly 50% of the people live on 12% of the world's land. Throw in nukes, and that's all we'll need.

[WaterMan]

Just saw on DW-TV that the Taliban are withdrawing from an area they took over recently. A local correspondant said that he thinks that they got word of military action coming their way.

[bpwallace49]

Just a quick recall of the history of the Taliban, . . because i dont feel like googling it up.

 

Ddint the Taliban come out of the muhajen freedom fighters that began to repel the USSR from its invasion of Afghanistan?

 

Didnt the US secretly fund, train, and supply the muhajeen with US armaments?

 

And now the same organization that it was convenient to support in the 80's, is now a dangerous threat to the US ever since 9-11.

 

Gotta love US foreign policy . . . alway looking at the big picture . . . .

 

PS- Didnt John Rambo support the Taliban? Who wants to mess with John Rambo???

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambo_III

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

Read this...still sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

 

Steve Coll's Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 offers revealing details of the CIA's involvement in the evolution of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the years before the September 11 attacks. From the beginning, Coll shows how the CIA's on-again, off-again engagement with Afghanistan after the end of the Soviet war left officials at Langley with inadequate resources and intelligence to appreciate the emerging power of the Taliban. He also demonstrates how Afghanistan became a deadly playing field for international politics where Soviet, Pakistani, and U.S. agents armed and trained a succession of warring factions. At the same time, the book, though opinionated, is not solely a critique of the agency. Coll balances accounts of CIA failures with the success stories, like the capture of Mir Amal Kasi. Coll, managing editor for the Washington Post, covered Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992. He demonstrates unprecedented access to records of White House meetings and to formerly classified material, and his command of Saudi, Pakistani, and Afghani politics is impressive. He also provides a seeming insider's perspective on personalities like George Tenet, William Casey, and anti-terrorism czar, Richard Clarke ("who seemed to wield enormous power precisely because hardly anyone knew who he was or what exactly he did for a living"). Coll manages to weave his research into a narrative that sometimes has the feel of a Tom Clancy novel yet never crosses into excess. While comprehensive, Coll's book may be hard going for those looking for a direct account of the events leading to the 9-11 attacks. The CIA's 1998 engagement with bin Laden as a target for capture begins a full two-thirds of the way into Ghost Wars, only after a lengthy march through developments during the Carter, Reagan, and early Clinton Presidencies. But this is not a critique of Coll's efforts; just a warning that some stamina is required to keep up. Ghost Wars is a complex study of intelligence operations and an invaluable resource for those seeking a nuanced understanding of how a small band of extremists rose to inflict incalculable damage on American soil. --Patrick O'Kelley

Edited April 24, 2009 by CaP'N GRuNGe

[Ursa Majoris]

Just a quick recall of the history of the Taliban, . . because i dont feel like googling it up.

 

Ddint the Taliban come out of the muhajen freedom fighters that began to repel the USSR from its invasion of Afghanistan?

 

Didnt the US secretly fund, train, and supply the muhajeen with US armaments?

 

And now the same organization that it was convenient to support in the 80's, is now a dangerous threat to the US ever since 9-11.

 

Gotta love US foreign policy . . . alway looking at the big picture . . . .

 

PS- Didnt John Rambo support the Taliban? Who wants to mess with John Rambo???

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambo_III

I recall at the time of the defeat of the Soviet Union that what was left in Afghanistan was going to be worse.

 

And it was.