Owning or Leasing Kabul?
USMC opera material out of a combat patrol of wonderfully vigorous and immortal young men, allowing a CNN videocam to trail along and take advantage of the brilliant, spring-like sunshine. The Taliban fighters are also young men, and the contest here is sad and grim. Michael Vlahos and I have spoken often of the pointlessness of the Afghan operations and the falsehood of the pols who assert that Marine youths crawling around Helmand province are connected to the security of the homeland or the economy of North America. Operation Moshtarak is a propaganda display for the sake of the graft-soaked Karzai brothers and their posse in Kabul. The Pakistani Army watches with a shrug and a smile. The Great Game now extends to a slow wrestling match between Delhi and Islamabad. Kiyani, chief of staff of the Islamabad team, offers to train the Afghan army (that is, own it) in exchange for getting Kabul on a puppet string. Delhi offers to train the Afghan National Army (lease it) in exchange for getting Pakistan out of Kabul. Both offers are credible; however, the Obama administration has sided with the Pakistani offer because it is funded by the House of Saud, a favorite source of wisdom and comity for POTUS these days. That the House of Saud is rotten with jihadists and sinister creatures is not an interest to the White House just now.
The Interrogation of Baradar.
Bill Roggio, Long War Journal, alerts me that the Pakistan ISI now announces that it has not really and truly arrested the Mullah Omar deputy commander Baradar -- that the Pakistani ISI has merely detained Baradar for interrogation to determine if he has broken any laws in Pakistan. Meanwhile, an Afghan official boasts that Baradar may be turned over to Kabul. Not so fast, says the ISI. We may soon release this law-abiding fellow. This charade is played out on a world stage, and the winner is certain to be the ISI, who run links to Omar and Baradar and to Al Qaeda in North Waziristan. The Great Game.
for the convenience of your clan.
http://www.accessnow.org/
Let’s step back for a moment and ask the question, “What are we trying to accomplish in Afghanistan?” Is it nation building? No. Is it to prop up an illegitimate puppet government there? Not in so many words. Is it to protect the homeland? Hardly. Is it for oil? Officially speaking, no. Is it to protect Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal? It’s a concern, but no. So why are we there?
As time goes on, this question is becoming harder and harder to answer. If the way in which we’re fighting this war is any indication, it does not seem to be critical that we should win. So why are we there? To maintain a presence? To remain a factor - to reserve a seat at the table where the ultimate solution for the region will be decided? Perhaps.
It seems to me, that if we want to remain relevant in what happens in this tortured region, we must be certain of what we ourselves hope to accomplish. Such clarity, unfortunately, is not readily apparent. We appear to no longer believe in human rights. We no longer believe in democracy. We no longer believe in free market capitalism and the energy that sustains it. We no longer believe in American exceptionalism. We no longer believe in Israel. We no longer believe in ourselves. So, why are we there?
Is it perhaps to inflict another crushing blow on our military; to re-create Vietnam, April, 1975? Is it our stealth desire to install an Islamic Caliphate in the region? Is it to overwhelm global political systems to the point of ushering in a world-wide economic and political collapse; hence, revolution; to clear the tables of any and all evil Western influence?
When Bush spoke of the “axis of evil”, we had the last indication of a strategy that had the potential of advancing America’s largely benign influence. With one or two coherent, coordinated strokes we could envision a victory that would bring peace to the region by holding any corrosive elements at bay; assuring the uninterrupted flow of oil to western nations; and securing Israel’s right to exist.
All of that has been officially disavowed now. There is no longer any reason for us to be conducting any foreign campaigns; no reason to spill the blood of our bravest and finest. Why then are we there? All that makes sense at this point is that we are aiming to blunt the last arrow in our quiver that stands in the way of chaos.
http://peterkoelliker.blogspot.com/
I find this a bit puzzling.
Afghanistan was used as a base to attack the US. The perps are still in the region broadly conceived. It seems to me that tribal leaders in these mountains can well understand why we would come in search of the killers of our people. Isn't it the kind of thing they would do?
Omar was one of the perps or the abettors. Zawaheri is on the list. And OBL. In the hunt we destroyed the old regieme's control of the country. We broke it on purpose. We have an obligation to help make a new one.
Give us those three or their heads. We give gifts and leave.
The narrative here seems simple to me. The task is formidable.
If there is an American empire it is an empire of prohibition. There are things we should not/can not permit- launching attacks on the US being a prime example.