11 Years Later....Why are we in Afghanistan, and What is our Plan now?

[Warfish]

Just curious.

Durign teh Bush Era, we rightfully wondered what the plan was in Iraq and Afgahnistan, what our aims were, what wer wed oing, and frankly, why we were fighting the War/Occupation so horribly poorly in many cases.

So now, 4 years on, the media rarely covers the war, certainly doesn;t blaze teh causualty count daily above teh fold as they used to, and generally, the War is a backburner afterthought in the current election cycle.

So, I want to know, why ARE we in Afgahnistan still?

What is our plan there?

What is our goals?

With 2/3 of the deaths there in the last 4 years and Bin Laden having been in our ally Pakistan and now dead, what are we gaining being there?

And why is it that the War, and it's ongoing costs, are such a backburner issue? We're still doing everythign we did under Bush, every infringement on personal liberties (Patriot Act), every killing of civillians (Drone Strikes and more), and still losing alot of our men and women in uniform (again, 2/3 of our dead in the last 4 years), and it must be added, still spending a massive amount fo American dollars there and elsewhere.

How is it the War, such a massive issue 4 years ago, is a total non-issue now when almost nothing has changed for the better beyond teh Bush-Timeline withdrawal from Iraq and teh death od Bin Laden?

[Apache 51]

Squash as many ants as possible.

[Bonhomme Richard]

Unfortunately the media gives Obama the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the war, and does him a favor by ignoring it completely. It should be as scrutinized as aggressively as it was during the Bush admin; to do otherwise is to do a disservice to the men and women who are currently deployed there.

Just as it was for the USSR, Afghanistan is a quagmire for us. It's the Hotel California -- we can check out anytime we like (and we have), but we can never leave.

[kennyo7]

Both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were stupid, pointless and unnecessarily costly to the US people. Did nothing to help the USA and did very little for the people in each of those respective countries. The war in Iraq weakened our interests in that region. Stupid.

Obama deserves blame for keeping our boys in that sh!thole.

[palmetto defender]

Originally Posted by kennyo7

Both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were stupid, pointless and unnecessarily costly to the US people. Did nothing to help the USA and did very little for the people in each of those respective countries. The war in Iraq weakened our interests in that region. Stupid.

Obama deserves blame for keeping our boys in that sh!thole.

So the next time a group crashes planes into buildings (today is 9/11) and kill lots of Americans we say, "Thank you sir, give me another"?
What I would expect of a government employee.
Afghanistan HAS gone on too long but was nmecessary.
Iraq? Saddam said he had WMDs. He actually did at a point since he used them. We should have been out of there in a year.

[JoeyStylez]

Originally Posted by palmetto defender

So the next time a group crashes planes into buildings (today is 9/11) and kill lots of Americans we say, "Thank you sir, give me another"?
What I would expect of a government employee.
Afghanistan HAS gone on too long but was nmecessary.
Iraq? Saddam said he had WMDs. He actually did at a point since he used them. We should have been out of there in a year.

Your ignorance and lack of morals can no longer be ignored. Who the hell are you to disparage someone for working in the public sector? You think that makes someone weak, which only proves what a waste of air you actually are. Many good people work in the public AND private sector, but you think it's only worthy to make money and not try to serve the public.

And the ultimate proof of your stupidity is confusing the 9/11 attacks with the ill-fated invasion of Iraq. Way to dishonor the memory of all those killed just so you can make an ignorant point. You don't deserve to be an American.

[SafetyBlitz]

We should leave Afghanistan now, not in 2014. We should have left that place a long time ago, perhaps never even invaded - there are other military options short of overthrow/peacekeeping/nation-building.

Sadly, both the President and Mr Romney agree on the same time table.

These are questions that I hope are brought up in the national debates if they do youtube/twitter questions - because I doubt any moderator asks "why are we still in Afghanistan?"

[Soberphobia]

Operation Enduring Freedom was definitely justifiable, while Operation Iraqi Freedom was not - that's basically it in a nutshell. Not really sure what should happen now - just know whatever happens the Taliban must not be allowed to regain power to shelter terrorist organisations like Al Qaida.

[palmetto defender]

Originally Posted by JoeyStylez

Your ignorance and lack of morals can no longer be ignored. Who the hell are you to disparage someone for working in the public sector? You think that makes someone weak, which only proves what a waste of air you actually are. Many good people work in the public AND private sector, but you think it's only worthy to make money and not try to serve the public.

And the ultimate proof of your stupidity is confusing the 9/11 attacks with the ill-fated invasion of Iraq. Way to dishonor the memory of all those killed just so you can make an ignorant point. You don't deserve to be an American.

Lack of morals? Based on what. My standing in the community? You have an enormous lack of inteliigence. I can knock anyone I please. Public sector? Takers. Overpaid. Big pensions for what? I think they (you) are killing our budget.
9/11 had to do with Afghanistan. Period. We took appropriate action.
You are obvously a well undereducated person with a feeble grasp of a world view. Iraq was the process of Saddam Hussein refusing to back down. He got called.
And as for being an American? I have a Silver Star and a couple of Bronze Stars. Please post after you get your latest unemployment check.

BTW Joey boy, have you actually ever initiated a post? Hard to do if you aren't smart. I both initiate, respond and criticize. I'll take shots at ken, IJF and copernicus. PK also. I disagree with much of what they stand for but acknowledge they are at least educated, even smart, though misguided. I don't appreciate the public sector. Hey even PK works in the private sector.
So chill out with another joint or whatever it is you use to be irrational.

[SafetyBlitz]

Originally Posted by Soberphobia

Operation Enduring Freedom was definitely justifiable, while Operation Iraqi Freedom was not - that's basically it in a nutshell. Not really sure what should happen now - just know whatever happens the Taliban must not be allowed to regain power to shelter terrorist organisations like Al Qaida.

In a country like Afghanistan, does it matter who's in power? Could we not just hunt and kill the Al Qaeda there without invading, regardless of the taliban? If not than what the hell are cruise missiles, drones, Navy Seals and ridiculous air superiority for?

[JoeyStylez]

Originally Posted by palmetto defender

Lack of morals? Based on what. My standing in the community? You have an enormous lack of inteliigence. I can knock anyone I please. Public sector? Takers. Overpaid. Big pensions for what? I think they (you) are killing our budget.
9/11 had to do with Afghanistan. Period. We took appropriate action.
You are obvously a well undereducated person with a feeble grasp of a world view. Iraq was the process of Saddam Hussein refusing to back down. He got called.
And as for being an American? I have a Silver Star and a couple of Bronze Stars. Please post after you get your latest unemployment check.

BTW Joey boy, have you actually ever initiated a post? Hard to do if you aren't smart. I both initiate, respond and criticize. I'll take shots at ken, IJF and copernicus. PK also. I disagree with much of what they stand for but acknowledge they are at least educated, even smart, though misguided. I don't appreciate the public sector. Hey even PK works in the private sector.
So chill out with another joint or whatever it is you use to be irrational.

Standing in the community means nothing in regards to morals. I'm not a public sector employee but I have no quarrel with them or those who work in the private sector. Anyone who works hard and makes money is OK in my book, so long as they're not screwing over someone to do it. Teachers work in the public sector. So do cops, fire fighters, judges and those who work in local neighborhood centers. Are they all takers? All overpaid? Are you saying that a cop who stops a robbery or a fire fighter who runs into a burning building to save lives is an overpaid mooch? Are you a better person than them because you made out well in the private sector?

I rarely initiate threads, simply because I don't feel like it. Intelligence has ****-all to do with it. Your defense of the Iraq invasion casts serious doubts about YOUR intelligence.

I appreciate you serving our country and putting your ass on the line. You deserve kudos for that. However, your self-serving, baseless disgust with public workers deserves to be called out on. Your military medals don't give you the right to disparage someone who chooses a different life path than yourself, and who earned a pension by working a public job that you were too damn lazy to do yourself. We need workers in BOTH sectors, capice?

If your house ever catches fire, are you gonna put it out yourself? Or will you ***** at the brave men and women who come over to put it out? I'm sure they would love to hear you tell them their pensions are undeserved.

[parafly]

There are a few reasons why we are still there, but in my opinion, the most significant reason can be summed up in three words ... military industrial complex.

Corporations control our politicians, and the military has become largely privatized.

[parafly]

Originally Posted by JoeyStylez

Your ignorance and lack of morals can no longer be ignored.

Sure it can, I've been doing it for a while. In my opinion, one of the most disrespectful posters on the board.

[FF2®]

This might be a good time to ring up W and ask him what the plan was.

[32green]

Originally Posted by FF2®

This might be a good time to ring up W and ask him what the plan was.

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