$(document).ready( function () { talk_rendercallback({"enabled":"0","islive":"0","eid":5518,"total":"9","discussion":[{"nm":"Holly Cordeiro","rs":"0","ms":"I somewhat agree and would also like to see/hear about a complete investigation to the reason Al Queda was not caught at the beginning, if they were really cornered, as well. Preferably highly televised and called for by the president. Perhaps there are other ways of persuading the Pakistan people that a central gov can help them? Send doctors to help alleviate illnesses, and nurses? Teachers of green, self sufficient technology which can help the people in their way of life? maybe make things easier for themselves? In this way they could keep their tribal culture, and many values but with a renewed responibility. They would not need any group because they could survive happily on a family by family basis with the government simply stepping in for health concerns and to teach history and self sufficiancy. Also, to monitor immigration, as a form of safety for the country. Perhaps our soliders could do some of these things, become more connected with the people and better understand their culture. I wouild be afraid and angry if we were a smaller country and anyone just came in with guns claiming to be protecting us yet searching and trying to kill members of the family or community. I would also be very distrustful of what they claimed was good or correct if my way of life and beliefs were very different. We may want to help them, but their country is not ours, we cannot make them the same. We need to respect their differences.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 00:49"},{"nm":"William Durst","rs":"0","ms":"The problem with all of this is that...well...imperialism is imperialism. A feeling that one country has a right to invade another soveriegn country for any reason is what imperialism is. The \'justification\' as we have seen in Iraq can be fabricated. To be seen to be discussing another country\'s future as if it was some kind of computer game, to belive that the use of force can change a peoples beliefs, traditions and political systems is nieve and obviously deadly. No one will win hearts or minds by invasion, only enemies. Withdrawal now is honorable because it recognizes the fundamental error of a full invasion in the first place and will save countless lives and make friends where once there were enemies. Friendship and trust cannot be earned at the point of a gun, they cannot be leveraged or forced, only through acts of respect and fellowship can true friends be made. It\'s what anyone would teach there children, isn\'t it? \n ","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 07:04"},{"nm":"Murali","rs":"0","ms":"The whole notion that if we do not support pakistan, it will blow is garbage.  In fact the opposite is true. Pakistan has enough internal resources and to fight for its survival.","pt":"Oct 16, 2009 00:30"},{"nm":"Theodore L. Stacy","rs":"0","ms":"Positing the question of whether or not a war can be won assumes that the war should be fought in the first place.  Very few, if any, wars have been or are fought over abstractions or to end a concept such as "terrorism".  Wars are fought by governments primarily for access to natural or man-made resources.  While governments may consider the strategic value of such resources in their global planning, individual wealth is a powerful player in all of these decisions.  Iraq was about oil and procurement profiteering.  The war on Afghanistan shares many of those same points with the war on Iraq.  The procurement budgets are immense but the regional energy resources seem to be the primary object.  These are long-term goals as the market has a surfeit of energy for the foreseeable future.  Keeping energy off of the market seems to be more of a concern as a rapid fall in crude prices would seriously impact central oil corporation profits and possibly de-stabilize the dollar.  It is truly unfortunate that President Obama has chosen to expand this war, keep the truth about it purpose secret, and to keep news reporting and censorship in place.  The more he holds high the facade of "fighting terrorism" the more transparent his real alliances will become.  George Bush called the well-heeled his "base".  We\'ll see if President Obama will be successful in running in those shoes.  The elite have their own cultural code for how they see themselves and their leaders.  I do not believe they see or accept President Obama as their leader on elemental cultural terms.  They will tolerate him as long as he acquiesces to their wishes for their power consolidation in these resource areas.  So far, he has agreed to everything they have asked and is dutifully trying to serve them and their artificial faces with corporate names.  In performing those duties, he is abandoning the real people in the United States.  Of course, the Congress is right there pushing the corporate agenda also.","pt":"Oct 15, 2009 18:07"},{"nm":"robert","rs":"0","ms":"In response to the question, "Where are they getting their capability", Adm. Mike Mullen offers up utter bloody nonsense of a kind that Americans swallow like ice cream, generation after generation.\n"They", Pashtun guerrillas, took their initial training from American experts when the USA decided to undermine the Russian takeover of Afghanisnam.  America trained the very guerrillas they now fight.  The finest fighting force in history taught their current enemy (lots of different labels to demonize same; choose one) how to become expert warriors.  Wouldn\'t be surprised if Russia and China now buy American arms from all over the world to use against NATO forces, the reverse of exactly what America did to Russia in Afghanisnam.\n   ","pt":"Oct 15, 2009 13:35"},{"nm":"Anthony Donovan","rs":"0","ms":"For those of us who\'ve been writing and studying "terrorism" for over 25 years, this is not Obama\'s war.   It was GW\'s "war".   The word "war" should never have been used and never should have been taken up by our press.   From the start it should have been a covert strike and round up of Al Queda, period.   The world was with us on that, and it was very doable.   Some one gave an order to let Al Queda go when we had them in sight and cornered.    We never got to the bottom of that.    We\'ve been bled by these "wars", and let\'s not mention all the lies that got us so diverted.    \nWho are the customers for the poppy?   Which drug companies use these opiods for all our pain killers, and who are those controlling the trafficing around the world, who are pouring in the huge money for it?   In 1983 we were pleaded with by the Kabul government to understand that those we were supporting with armaments and monies also wanted the destruction of western values.   We didn\'t listen.\nGood young men and women serving and offering ultimate sacrifice, but we look sooo ignorant in Afghanistan.   We don\'t speak the language, we haven\'t studied the culture, or the history, nor it seems any history.  We want to create a central government in Afghanistan that all listen to?   What is wrong with us?   We are showing our ignorance.\nOnly now they talk about troops getting to know the locals, like it\'s a new brilliant idea?   So our young kids go over and think shaking hands in space suits and guns is getting to know the people.    The "tailiban" are the enemy?   They are pashtuns.... they are kids who live there and in Pakistan for many generations.    They are not evil.... they consider themselves brave patriots.    We can help educate through example and pursuation, and by doing something about our need for drugs over sunflowers.   \nWe have been, and are terribly wrong still, being lead down the wrong path started upon 8 years ago. \nWe keep giving the "terrorists" everything they want.... a occupying force spending all our precious resources in the Middle East and going broke, save the military industrial corporations.    The majority of jobs being offered in recent years are military related, at the expense of so much good we could be doing... it\'s abhorent.  Militaries are very expensive and inefficient bodies to teach civics.    Let\'s support Afhani\'s as best we can, but not with a standing military in US bases.    There are many non military options that can greatly help, none of which were presented in this report, although thankfully the possibility of other solutions was alluded to.   The report was excellent... it shows us clearly why we need to get our occupying forces out, and why we as a world need to pursue the goal of ridding ourselves of nuclear weapons, and earnestly protecting all materials, now.    As a good friend Robert said, "Peace is a conflict of interest." \n And as the Afghan Amb. to the UN stated in 2003, "Democracy can\'t be imposed.   What is needed is support of the concepts of justice."  People respect what seems just.   \nWe pontificate about corruption in Afghanistan (which is true) while we cannot weed out the corruption in our own halls of congress, our health insurance profit system, our huge sums of public monies given without the public\'s consent to bail out Wall Street\'s greed, our deregulation of so many citizen protections, etc.   \nThe ancient adage "A content people is a nations best defense." still holds true.   And we grow discontented by the hour.    Let\'s do what is right, and not have military commanders dictating the the rules for humanity to continue the journey toward civilizations highest possibilities.","pt":"Oct 14, 2009 23:57"},{"nm":"Michael","rs":"0","ms":"No one like to compare Afghanistan to Vietnam but having fought in Vietnam between 1970 and 1975 (yes 4-1/2 tours) and as a military adviser for 2 years in Afghanistan between 1977 to 1979. I believe I know a little about what I am saying.\n\nWe can not "win" in Afghanistan. End of story.\n\nWhy you ask? What do I know that our generals in charge do not know? Believe me they know we can not win it is the political leaders who will not listen to our military (as usual). It boils down to one simple statement I have said in many "white papers" on the subject. "An enemy which will not be defeated, can not be defeated". The Afghanistan people are tribal by nature and not beholden to any central government or rule. They do not want a central government, this is how they are raised, this is their culture as well as their religion and way of life and they will violently resist any attempt to change it.\n\nCould we "win"? Yes but not without the use of Nuclear weapons and that is not going to happen. What if we use more troops like in Iraq? It would not matter they (the Afghan people) do not want to change, General McChrystal is right about one thing, when we kill 1 insurgent 20 more come to the fight, their fathers, brothers, cousins and anyone else they knew. During Vietnam the term "Winning the Hearts and Minds" was used. Well that worked well didn\'t it?\n\nAll that will happen in Afghanistan is that we will "stabilize" a small area around the capitol and announce "we have won". As soon as we leave a Civil War will break out and the country will descend into chaos. Then we will build another monument to those brave Americans lost in yet another failed military venture.","pt":"Oct 14, 2009 20:07"},{"nm":"Christine Delano","rs":"0","ms":"The prognosis sounds bleak. It appears that the cancer has become malignant and there is no cure only temporary measures to ease the pain.","pt":"Oct 14, 2009 09:56"},{"nm":"John Saxton","rs":"0","ms":"T. Ricks comments are truly scary.  Very tough decision for inexperienced President to make.  Hope he listens well to Gates & military leaders. ","pt":"Oct 13, 2009 22:45"}]}); });