Yeah, right!... What a waste of 446 lives... Cannot get my head round the thinking behind this... What has been achieved?
They've achieved a "basic level of security" thats supposed to be an achievement. The Russians failed to sort it out in the '80's what chance did we have, complete fiasco.
Government f*** up again........Nothing thought through....... F***ing disgraceful. I wonder if Pete1950 advised them on this one??
So, in the aftermath of 9/11, how would the forum have dealt with the threat of terrorism, from any faction, religious or not?
An interesting perspective. Should we focus on preventing accidents caused by millions of road users of different abilities and values who do not intend to cause harm, but are generally careless and incompetent, or do we focus on preventing other people deliberately killing others because they don't share the same beliefs?
I think it is about what is an acceptable level of risk. We were told that if we didn't take on Al Qaeda in Afghanistan then we would have to take them on in the streets of Britain, what we actually did was take on the Taliban. Exporting democracy to a country that has no concept of what it means is shortsighted. After we leave what will happen to that fledgling democracy ? Let's hope that Karsai fares better than Najibullah, who was publicly castrated and hung after the Soviets left. But the real tragedy could be the women of Afganistan who have had their eyes opened. For a better insight into Afghanistan take a look at http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0330486349/?tag=ducatiforum-21 Rory Stewart takes the view that the propblem is an Afghan problem that can only be solved by Afghans. How much help they need is open to debate. To claim 'Mission accomplished' is reminiscent of George W Bush on the deck of the USS Abrham Lincoln and look what happened then. We told the Taliban last year that we were leaving in 2014, they must be pissing themselves laughing.
With an estimated $3 trillion in untapped mineral reserves and many of the gas and oil pipelines from Russia and China passing through Afghanistan, on their way to the middle east and eastern Europe, where do you really think women's rights come into this? Where does democracy, or any of the other espoused higher moral values we are trying to impose on others come into this? They don't. They're just the mealy-mouthed excuses to placate the outcry over sacrificing our young men and women for a rotten cause dressed up to look worthy. It's all about mining and oil and gas and reconstruction and share holders and how we can ingratiate ourselves to the installed rulers of the country so we get the contracts for rebuilding infrastructure we've destroyed, drilling, exploration rights, and eventually, in years to come, we'll learn that our past leaders' kids are billionaire directors of these construction companies awash with blood dollars. Along the way our arms industries will have been making grillions and employing extra staff, the instability in the region keeps the multi-billion pound orders coming in for fighter jets and so the economy is boosted with good news stories to balance the body count.
Where do I think women's rights come into this ? Not very high but they could well pay a high price, like they have in the past. Is $3 trillion in mineral reserves a rotten cause ?
Is it a cause worth 446 British lives, to say nothing of the many thousands of innocents butchered by state of the art weapons? What makes us think it is our place to impose the alien concept of our 'modern' western values on a semi feudal society?
This is the fundamental question. Whilst we have every right to defend our values we have no right to impose them on others. I have never understood how we are making the streets of the UK safer by an invasion of Afghanistan and placing Karsai in power. After the withdrawal of combat troops it is said that we will have to leave 'advisers' there for the forseeable future. I wonder what the Taliban will make of that ?
I feel sorry for the Afghans. A backward country torn apart by inbred savages, and blown to bits by the West and the Taliban... Most of the men are high on opium... They don't want to develop... Should have simply left them to their own devices, like what we are doing with Siria...
