First Draft

Other Shit That Should Be Obvious

Read this shit some time.

Read this, as well.

I tried arguing about Afghanistan with people back in 2001; naturally, no one listened. 

I understood that, after 9/11, we would be attacking somebody.  You don't outspend the rest of the world militarily and then not use that military when attacked.  However, I did not expect an invasion and occupation of Afghanistan.  I thought it was a stupid idea then, and I think it's a stupid idea now. 

One of the big justifications for the war was the removal of the Taliban, that group of fundamentalist assholes who imposed their own vision of utopian society in many parts of Afghanistan.  Don't get me wrong--they're a bunch of fucks.  Everyone's heard the stories about burqas and sex-segregation and women being fourth-class citizens (it was hilarious to watch Republicans trip over themselves to stress how awful and sexist these choad-gobblers were).

I was aware of the Taliban prior to September of 2001.  It didn't take a genius to know about this group of sack wranglers.  However, there's a reason why they were in control of parts of Afghanistan.  They provided order.  Order is preferable to chaos--it's why we have government in the first place, and why Libertarian fantasies will always be just that.  When, as happens some times, that order becomes unbearably oppressive, certain groups attempt to replace it.  But they never wish to eradicate order altogether.  There may be a chaotic interregnum, but no one ever abolishes order in favor of permanent chaos. 

Put otherwise:  When the people who lived in Afghanistan (and I'm not talking about "Afghanis;" there's really no such ethnicity) got tired of the Taliban, they would have done something about it.  You can provide aid to these groups, and you can encourage less-repressive elements in societies, but you can't go in and impose an order of your own.  It has to be, to use a Hobbesian term, a social contract entered into by the people whose own lives are directly affected--especially in a place like Afghanistan, where interlopers have been frustrated since the days of Alexander the Great. 

All that shit about "Freedom is God Almighty's gift" is just nonsense.  Even if it were true, it would be up to the Almighty to dispense it, not to us.  Isn't that fucking presumptuous, to think otherwise?

Not that Hobbes' view of humanity was perfect.  It was, of course, situated in his time--the anarchical years during the English Civil War.  However, when in such a state, order--even a harsh order--is something for which people yearn.  Corrupt, unpredictable, and abusive governments will always be less popular than repressive yet predictable ones. 

Thoughts?

Meanwhile in Afghanistan

Stars and Stripes reports on an Afghan policeman killing an American soldier and the mounting concerns  that militants have infiltrated the national force:

JALALABAD, Afghanistan — A U.S. soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan Thursday when an Afghan policeman opened fire on an American patrol returning to its base.

The Afghan National Policemen opened fire and threw a hand grenade at the U.S. patrol as it returned from a meeting with tribal elders in Bermel District, Paktika Province, near the border with Pakistan. The remaining U.S. troops killed the policeman, according to the military.

SNIP

But Thursday’s incident was the second time in less than a month that an Afghan officer has killed a U.S. soldier, raising concerns that militants may have infiltrated the Afghan police force.

60 Minutes will air a report in which a top general in Afghanistan states that enemy numbers have increased by up to 30% and their activities are becoming more complex:

"I'm telling you that the enemy did increase from 20 to 30 percent this last year….I'll tell you that they are doing more complex activities which concerns me greatly," says Gen. Schlosser.

SNIP

"I'm here to predict this winter will be the most violent winter so far," says Gen. Schlosser. "We are doing a winter campaign, Lara, that just plain gets after the enemy." But he'll need help. "I've been very clear that I need more resources, more soldiers and more assets," he tells Logan.

And AP reports al-Qaida will weather the global economic crisis just fine:

CAIRO, Egypt – Al-Qaida, which gets its money from the drug trade in Afghanistan and sympathizers in the oil-rich Gulf states, is likely to escape the effects of the global financial crisis.

One reason is that al-Qaida and other Islamic terrorists have been forced to avoid using banks, relying instead on less-efficient ways to move their cash around the world, analysts said.

SNIP

Al-Qaida and the Taliban have benefited from the drug trade's growth in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, and the booming business likely will not be affected by the global slowdown.

Opium cultivation has fallen slightly this year but is still about 20 times higher than in 2001, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

In the other war

DoD Secretary Gates is thinking of rquesting more troops for Afghanistan according to NYT although it would only be a few thousand. More troops are certainly needed and have been requested but one battalion  already in Afghanistan is being sent to Iraq...

Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has already pushed for more troops.

Eikenberry said Tuesday he has asked the Pentagon to order a battalion of the 10th Mountain Division to remain in Afghanistan until the end of the year rather than leave this spring. The unit already is scheduled to deploy to Iraq later this year -- an example of how thinly stretched the military has become.

It was not clear how many other troops have been requested for Afghanistan.

I came across the blog of photojournalist Bill Putnam. He has a post with 3 videos of what is happening in Afghanistan that were shot by photojournalist Scott Kesterson. They are incredible (especially the last) and show the fierce fighting going on in the other war.
Just. Go. Watch. One of These Videos

This Just In: We Screwed Up Afghanistan, Too

From the Trib:

Violence against women increased in every province of Afghanistan last year, according to Women's Affairs Ministry statistics. Those numbers include self-immolations, a relatively new and disturbing trend in Afghanistan in which women set themselves on fire.

The desperation that leads to such acts has been attributed to domestic violence and forced marriages. At least 60 percent of Afghan women are in forced marriages, and 57 percent marry before they reach age 16, according to a report by the international rights group Womankind Worldwide.

Not for nothing, but this might be something to ask Laura Bush about during her next "My husband is attractive and powerful and an adequate lover" press conference.

A.