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What should Obama do about Afghanistan? (Brief Overview)
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Karzai & Obama
Here's what President Obama should do about Afghanistan. He should get out now. Here are the main points. More to follow in the coming days.
Occupation
Occupation has a nasty tendency of created perpetual war, an inflated military budget (which can never decrease because a vote to cut military spending in a time of war is treason!) The British couldn't do it. The Soviets couldn't do it. And the U.S. can't do it! We're faced with constant opposition, and the necessity to maintain order in such a chaotic place. So, unless we can expect to bring stability to the middle east (lol), occupation only creates an environment we can't maintain and hyperextends our resources.
No Plan, Purpose, Or Definition of Victory
We're not even sure where al Qaeda is! We're told they're moving out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan. So, we kill a bunch, chasing them through countries until either A) they're all dead or B) we're bankrupt? The U.S. has been in Afghanistan for years. Not much to show for it. Suppose we take the same strategy as in the Iraq War, the miserable failure for most of its existence. Everybody's heard of the so-called success of the surge, and many have suggested flooding Afghanistan with troops, hoping for the same effect. However, the surge was vastly overrated. In reality, the success was because of the Sunni insurgency being put on the payroll. Try a one-size-fits-all strategy and buy off the Taliban, as part of the $680 billion defense bill? Good luck with that, America.
Corrupt Government
The U.S.’s effective presence in Afghanistan is dependent on winning the hearts and minds of the people, and creating a stable, democratic government to cooperate with. However, there is a potential for severe problems when dealing with the Karzai regime. In order to have any chance of success there, the U.S. has to cooperate with the Afghan government. Unfortunately, Karzai, the U.S. puppet, whose guilt of fraud is near certain, is having some legitimacy problems. Fighting by the side of a corrupt government will only cause us to be perceived as a greater enemy to the Afghan people. Furthermore, Karzai's brother, Ahmad Wali, an Afghan drug kingpin, has been on the CIA's payroll. The Taliban is funded by opium. So, the U.S. is in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, yet funds have gone to support them.
U.S. Economy
On October 28, President Obama signed the Defense Authorization Act for 2010, the next year’s military budget, funding the military with $680 billion. Since before the War on Terror, in 2000, U.S. military spending was $280 billion. If you’re conservative and concerned about government spending, here’s where should be cut. If you’re concerned about the costs of the trillion dollar health care bill, then military spending should have you in a panic (A trillion over ten years versus 680 billion EVERY year). If you’re a Keynesian, and think cutting government spending would hurt the economy, then consider that those expenses could be better used on more beneficial projects that, in turn, reproduce into other better things. For example, we can spend to build weapons which only cause only destruction or spend to fund schools and alternative energy sources, gifts that keep on giving.
