DUMB STUFF IN AFGHANISTAN

ITS TIME FOR AN END TO THE CARNAGE!

It was sad to learn that the possible “secret negotiations” that the President has been carrying on with the Taliban has fallen through.  The proximate cause was a recent bombing in which a US soldier was killed.  As usual the MSM (and FOX news too)  do not tell us the whole story.  The truth is the sticking point is that the Taliban want the USA out —but the war hawks in the GOP are insisting on a military presence there.  (See: Le Monde: 9-9-19 “Afghanistan; recit du pari diplomatique rate de Donald Trump”)  

It is well known that the US policy in the run up to the negotiations was a standard old formulation of  war hawks: “ you gotta appear strong before going to the negotiation table”. (See Economist: “Afghan peace talks break down” 9-9-19)    It seems apparent now that President Trump (who as a deal maker should know better) let the hard liners have their way during this critical period.  These folks—not your ardent seekers of peace— actually pressed for increased bombing, interdiction, and night raids on Taliban positions during the negotiations for the peace plan.  The Taliban responded in kind.  As a result—more carnage—on both sides.  We suffered  two recent car bombings which killed two of our brave men.  Their deaths were unnecessary—as were so many others—in the 18 years of this our longest war ever.  But the real sticking point was the foolish insistence of the USA to leave a permanent residual force in Afghanistan (of about 4,000 troops).  The Taliban rejected this idea.  Perhaps the car bombings were a message as to why this is a bad idea.

So it comes down to this: keep a small vulnerable force of troops tied down in Afghanistan as potential targets for lethal attacks on soft targets —or face the reality that our near two decades of carnage, blood letting and death in Afghanistan should end cleanly with us admitting our error and going home.  The truth is hard to face up to.  

The Taliban are not international terrorists...They are not ISIS.  They are fighting to regain control of their country from foreign invaders—-that is all! .  They are no threat to our nation or our interests. They are essentially a  religious-political group with little interest beyond the borders of their nation.  If we leave them alone they will leave us alone.    The American people are sick and tried of the carnage, the waste, the expense, the death and maiming of our youth, and the —dumb stuff—stupidity—of our leaders who started this war— as well as those who are too timid to end it.   

The President is attempting to fulfill his election promise of ending the Afghanistan carnage.   He is an experienced deal maker.  He knows that in any deal—you have to give up somethings to gain other things.  You must compromise.  There is no winner takes all.  

All we have to do is call for a cease fire, then sit down to negotiate a peaceful withdrawal of all our troops.  We face no threats from Afghanistan. We have (or should have) no interests there that require a military presence.  We are a nation which claims to espouse “self determination” for ourselves and presumably for others as well.  The Afghans do not want us—alien Americans— to decide how they should live, govern themselves, worship, or treat their women and children.  Let’s get out of there and permit them to find their own way.

Let’s end the dumb stuff.