Originally posted by: Harvey
Originally posted by: bamacre
Harvey, since no one else answered my question, perhaps you can. What exactly is our exit strategy in Afghanistan? What goals do we have?
I don't have an answer. When it comes to running a miltary, I'm good electronic design engineer and a competent musician.
The Bushwhackos had plenty of good advice about that before they launched, almost all of which they ignored with the obviously pathetic results. We now have a real President with a real brain. I can only hope he's asked those questions and come up with some realistic answers.
Those who planned the attacks on 9/11 may have been overseas, but those who carried out the attacks were inside our borders. I support going after OBL and al-Zawahiri, but I don't support the nation-building, especially in countries that are no longer a threat to us. The casualties aren't worth it, and the financial costs aren't worth it, hell we can't afford either, IMO.
Those who carried out the attacks didn't start out, here, and the attacks were planned in Afghanistan and coordinated by Al Qaeda.
As far as "nation building" goes, call it whatever you want, I hope we're up to doing whatever it takes to help the Afghani's establish a peaceful nation free of Al Qaeda and Taliban tyranny. Along the way, it would be nice if we could leave them free of the need to continue supplying the world with opium.
We can only hope we can convince the Afghani people that's in their best interests, as well. We certainly can't impose all of that on them without their cooperation and participation.