Obama sends more troops to Afghanistan

[Jovial Monk]

That isn't official yet, of course. ATM the regulars there can't even go on ops! Only the SAS can and that is pusilanimous and insulting to the soldiers.

To my intense disgust yesterday I saw some stupid Muslim dame swathed in cloth with only top part of face showing walking five steps behind her arsehole of a husband! Worse is imposed on women where the dreadful Dark Ages era Sharia law is imposed!

The Taliban kill little girls for the heinous crime of going to school and you would withdraw like a total coward?????? what about some solidarity for the women in Afghanistan eh?

[mantra.]

Regardless of whether it's been proclaimed official - it's only the numbers that have to be confirmed. We didn't go into Afghanistan to save the women and as much as their plight is heartbreaking - their position has been little improved after 7 years of war. All we've done now is scatter and multiply the Taliban as more unemployed and angry young men join up. This is exactly why organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah attract so many members. They take advantage of the hatred and destitution of Muslim citizens who sometimes have very little choice, but to sign up if they want to feed their family.

Unemployment is in excess of 40% and these people live under the poverty line. That means there's potential recruitment to the Taliban of millions and the US believes we can win this war? It's only exacerbating it. The only way to get rid of the Taliban now is to drop nuclear bombs throughout the country - which is probably what the US have in mind and will have to do to finally suppress them.

Driving factors towards increasing instability, according to Afghans, is high rate of unemployment and poverty in the war-wrecked country.

Many of those fighters joining Taliban insurgents are illiterate tribal people, young seminarians and low educated jobless youths.

"If I fail to find job I would have no choice except to join Taliban or leave for Iran as I heard they (Taliban) pay more stipend than the government," said a jobless youth who was waiting for customer at a square in west of Kabul.

Taliban outfit, according to him, pay 400 U.S. dollars while a government soldier receives some 200 U.S. dollars a month.

Majority of Afghans have little access to clean water, job, job insurance and regular income to run their daily life smoothly.

Increasing Taliban-led militancy, poor living condition particularly in the countryside, and the sway of warlords coupled with corruption and poppy cultivation have enabled militants to challenge government and exploit the situation for their benefit.

http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/09 ... ility.html

[JW Frogen]

We most certainly did go into Afghanistan to improve the lot of women, for this is integral to the fighting of Islamo Fascist terror. Bush had always made it clear that his democracy agenda (which included women’s rights promotion in the country, Bush’s wife making several visits to concentrate on simply that) was the long-term solution to Islamo Fascism, the war simply the needed pre-condition to remove them from power.

Afghanistan has never been a paradise for women and it’s economy has always been a basket case (indeed one economic analyst said it best, Afghanistan has never really had an economy as we know the meaning of the term) but both are certainly better off now than under the Talaban were no woman had any rights, no woman had any chance and were the economy was sent back almost literally into the stone age.

Chanting 'woe is me' in despair while many brave Afganini democrats (including female politicians) risk their lives for their country is simply a gross act of self indulgence, it reveals little or no concern with the country or the plight of Afghani women.

[Jovial Monk]

Bloody Bush should have continued the Afghan war and not go haring off to bloody Iraq on some whim of his brain damaged mind.

Air power should be used very sparingly and a real hearts and minds campaign launched.

When the Taliban ran Afghanistan a widow was not allowed to work, to leave the house to go to the market unless a relative could accompany her. so the only way they could earn money was by prostitution and if found out were stoned to death.

[JW Frogen]

The only way to win hearts and minds is to provide security and make people believe we will never leave as long as the Talaban are a force that can threatend their struggle for freedom and economic hope, otherwise people keep their heads down and let the bad guys win, like Vietnam.

[Jovial Monk]

The Vietnamese just wanted their country back--lots of SE Asian countries kicked out the colonial powers--Indonesia kicked out the Dutch, Malay the Brits and Viet Nam the French. Another stupid immoral war to no real purpose.

[JW Frogen]

I am sure most Vietnamese people just wanted their country back, and the only way a people can have their country back is democracy.

The North Vietnamese instituted a one party state that imprisoned or killed any Vietnamese dissent and drove millions of others into the sea, they also had little regard for other nations, invading Laos and Cambodia, destabilizing their countries and bringing mass death.

Do not confuse the North Vietnamese Communists with the Vietnamese people, after all the North Vietnamese Communists never have.

[Jovial Monk]

Yeah, way back when, French should have offered independence and maybe a democracy would be there now and 50k Americans would not have died in the mud there--the US OSS were aware of all this but were ignored. All that, the Viets should have been allowed their country back instead of having it "bombed back to the stone age"

The Viets ended the Kmer Rouge govt, funny you forgot to mention that

[JW Frogen]

The OSS were in love with Uncle Ho and they may have won the argument after the French were expelled but then Hoe immediately instituted a one party state, drove one million Vietnamese to the South, imprisoned tens of thousands more, and starting killing all opposition, he did the classic communist thing which made any voice in the US wishing for some sort of accommodation with him impossible.

[Jovial Monk]

This was before all that, late WWII in fact.