Afghanistan Plan

#1
volinbham

volinbham

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#1
Overall, I'm glad we are winding down in Afghan. I don't see much hope that we can do much more there.

I do question though the wisdom of building a considerable part of the plan on negotiations with the Taliban. It's quite telling that they launch an attack in protest to the POTUS visit and the agreement we signed with Karzai.

In short, it hardly seems that they are anywhere close to being a reliable negotiating partner.

Not sure what the alternative is though.

Suicide bombers kill 7 after Obama leaves Afghan capital | Reuters

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack which involved a car bomb and insurgents disguised as women on the eastern outskirts of the capital, killing seven people, a Gurkha guard and six passers-by, and wounding 17.

The Taliban said it was in response to Obama's visit and to the strategic partnership deal he signed with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a pact that sets out a long-term U.S. role after most foreign combat troops leave by the end of 2014.

The insurgency also claimed their spring offensive, which began two weeks ago with attacks in Kabul, would be renewed on Thursday, despite a security clamp-down in the capital.
Click to expand...
 
#2
#2
Hard road to go down either way. Don't think the mission is over yet and won't be for a couple more years. That is from a defense stand point and from things I see happening. Obama like any other politician is posturing himself for the election with everything he does between now and November.
 
#3
#3
There are strategic advantages to having forward operating bases in Afghanistan.
 
#4
#4
It is a little embarrassing that 2 hours after we lay out an optimistic spin on negotiating with the Taliban they execute this attack specifically to protest our plan.
 
#7
#7
volinbham said:
Overall, I'm glad we are winding down in Afghan. I don't see much hope that we can do much more there.

I do question though the wisdom of building a considerable part of the plan on negotiations with the Taliban. It's quite telling that they launch an attack in protest to the POTUS visit and the agreement we signed with Karzai.

In short, it hardly seems that they are anywhere close to being a reliable negotiating partner.

Not sure what the alternative is though.

Suicide bombers kill 7 after Obama leaves Afghan capital | Reuters
Click to expand...

At this point what other choice do we have? Its been nearly 11 years. The Taliban isn't going anywhere and the public has soured on this war. Bin Laden is dead and anyone who ever believed we were going to turn Afghanistan into a stable democracy was chasing rainbows. The Soviets, and British tried it and failed. The Mongols had some sucess because they didn't stick around for very long.

Afghanistan is home to people that have known nothing but war for generations. They are also very Patient.

I didn't like Bush at all but if I saw a Chinese tank roll down my street you can bet I would have become the biggest Bush Supporter in West Tennessee. No matter how much the majority of Afghans hate the Taliban at the end of the day they are still fellow Afghans.

I bet even GS would pick up a Gun and support Obama if Canada invaded and Knoxville and a Maple Leaf flew over his local Post Office.

Viva La Resistance and Death before Canadian Bacon on my Grand Slam.
 
#8
#8
Taliban don't give a crap who's running. They hate whoever is in the oval office regardless of party and affiliation. Some folks in the White House don't seem to get that.
 
#9
#9
Oh I agree - there is no good solution. Just commenting more on the timing of our pronouncement of negotiation and cooperation followed closely by the bombing.
 
#11
#11
I am confused as to why we need to negotiate a treaty; I am pretty sure that we can pack our **** and leave without one.
 
#12
#12
I would assume, based on what I've read, that the Taliban is now much more a loose confederaton of groups rather than a centrally commanded organized force.

That some group within their ranks would do this in protest of what perhaps other groups are doing, in terms of negotiating some resolution, is not surprising.
 
#16
#16
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.

Lithium Lithium Lithium..... From Smart Phones to Meth Labs it moves the world.
 
#17
#17
dduncan4163 said:
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.

Lithium Lithium Lithium..... From Smart Phones to Meth Labs it moves the world.
Click to expand...

And hybrid cars. :whistling:
 
#20
#20
A couple of points to think about.

1) All the Taliban could muster as their "protest attack" is a fairly small car bomb and a small squad of attackers dressed as women? To me that speaks of weakness rather than strength. Had they staged a bigger attack like the one they did on the Intercon Hotel a while back that would have worried me.

2) The fact they had to announce that their Spring Offensive was still going on means it can't be having that much affect in the places it really matters. Yes, there are still engagements, but they are mostly still either terrorist attacks(such as these suicide bombers) or very low level, low risk attacks such as road side bombs etc. I'm not seeing a lot of big attacks that would indicate war of movement level events. And I'm not seeing many outside of the main fighting areas--Kandahar, Khowst etc, almost 2/3s of the country seems quiet right now.

3) We have real national interests to stay in the region. It is a potential back door into Iran, China or Pakistan. Yes the minerals are a potential "gold mine" (no pun intended) but there are decades of de-mining that has to happen before anyone can really gain free access to the minerals. The real interest is simply keeping a presence in Central Asia.

4) The biggest problem that feeds the Afghan instability problem is the culture of corruption and smuggling. Right now the lead product is opium and that is driving a level of corruption across the country that cuts across every level of their society. In the future that could be replaced with something else (minerals?) but there will always be something. Successful commanders have recognized that part of their culture and found ways to influence their Afghan counterparts by working within that context. Unfortunately, many in the NATO coalition are either unable or unwilling to do business that way so our overall influence gets watered down.

Interestingly we've had similar problems working with other cultures that we didn't understand at first. But, Americans in general tend to learn from our mistakes and grow with experience, so now some of those who were once hated enemies from mysterious cultures are now are strongest allies and closest partnerships. A true working partnership with Afghanistan will do a lot for our interests in the region and is actually very feasible in the long run.
 
#21
#21
#22
#22
It's somewhat comforting to me that for years to come billions of U.S tax payers money will be spent to make sure that new roads, schools, etc will be built to assure Abdul will have a better life...NOTTTTT
 
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