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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Blundering Forward In The Graveyard Of Empires

Washington’s national security establishment – what used in Britain to be called "imperialists" – is in a growing panic over the war in Afghanistan which, in spite of America’s vast military and economic power, and cornucopia of high tech wizardry, is being slowly beaten by a bunch of lightly-armed but very fierce Pashtun mountain tribesman.

The renowned military strategist, Maj. Gen. J.F.C Fuller, defined war’s true objective as achieving desired political results, not killing enemies.

Operation Enduring Freedom – the dreadfully misnamed ten-year US occupation of Afghanistan – has turned into Operation Enduring Misery.

After ten years of military and civil operations costing at least $450 billion, over 1,600 dead and 15,000 seriously wounded soldiers, the US has achieved none of its strategic or political goals. As for Afghanistan, it has suffered untold civilian casualties, villages shattered by US bombing, night raids by death squads, over two million refugees and a 30-year civil war.

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1 comment:

lmclain said...

The war machine in America is powerful and well-connected. What ARE we still doing in Afghanistan? Please DON'T say anything about it being "important to our national security". Russia mercilessly killed everything in sight and ended up running for their lives. WE have poured untold lives and treasure into subduing a backward third world country and guess what? WE, too, will end up running for our lives (like we did in Vietnam). BUT, take heart, all you "USA! USA! USA!!!" sheeple --- the military industrial complex, ever hungry for MORE blood and money, will drum up ANOTHER "enemy' and "dire threat" for us to attack. Maybe Iran. I can already hear the beat of a future war....Pray it's not YOUR son or daughter that gets to give their life for it....