The Long Retreat
by Pat Buchanan
"The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating," said President Obama, as he announced deployment of 17,000 more U.S. troops.
"I'm absolutely convinced that you cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region, solely through military means."
"(T)here is no military solution in Afghanistan," says Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Said U.S. Commander Gen. David McKiernan yesterday, U.S. and NATO forces are ...
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Posted by: James A, Sweeney
Comment: #1
Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:08 AM
Sir;...You need an intelligence test... And; If we gave an intelligence test to those we elect we would not be stuck in Afghanistan.... You quote MacArthur... Do you understand that he was one man willing to do the heavy lifting to avoid needless deaths and failure for his men??? He would never have given the enemy the choice of battle fields...He would not have given them interior lines...He would have understood the enemy... He did not like Korea... He warned Kennedy out of Vietnam... He knew we could prevail in the Phillipines, because we had an equal chance... We do not have an equal chance in Afghanistan; and far less...It does not mean we should not have gone...It does mean we should not have stayed... We should have beat them up, and left saying we were going to do that all along... We do not understand Islam; and to understand Islam is to respect Islam...Ignorance got us into that war; but pure stupidity is making us stay... Nothing eats troops like holding territory... But what it does, is make us too easy to understand, and to understand, as MacArthur showed, is to defeat... MacArthur understood the Japanese...He undestood their marshall nature.... He knew if he could set up a beachhead, and a defense; that the enemy would attack...He knew the value of air power Just as Yamamoto...Field Marshal Slims understood the Japanese too, and he could defeat them....The key to every victory is understanding... The Japanese were too easy to understand...We are too easy to understand... We are worried about losing face... That is an Oriental concept... It should mean nothing to us... The object is either the destruction of the enemy or some sort of understanding between us... Face is a meaningless concept for an American to die for... So is stupidity meaningless to die for... We should be both inscrutable, and intelligent...In Afghanistan we did not recognize our strength, or their strength... By staying we have handed them victory at little cost...When we leave now, we will leave like a skunked dog... We could have left intact, knowing we could go back... Once we leave we will be done, and they can form up, and give us the finger....When we look at the price we have paid to save face only to lose it anyway, it should be enough to make us reform our government... I don't think it will be enough, by itself... The democrats will have to pay the price for their ability to face reality... They will be charged with a stab in the back... It is too late to give the old administration a knock in the head; but it sorely needed it... Going there was dangerous...Staying is stupid... Fools rush in should be our national motto... We need a complete change of behavior..And it will be painful... Stupidity usually is, Painful.. ...Thanks....Sweeney
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Posted by: David Shaw
Comment: #2
Mon Feb 23, 2009 2:28 PM
Bravo on your last paragraph, Sir. The truth be told, we never could support all of our allies, all at once. And now we find ourselves in a war too many - in my personal opinion, it is not the Afghan one. We need once again to walk quietly and carry a big stick; not swagger brashly with an economy in ruins.
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