Question of the Day | 10/13/2009 5:00 am
To ensure that there are no safe havens for terrorists, would you support keeping troops in Afghanistan for the next five years?

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For five years? No. Afghanistan is continually being reassessed and for good reason. We don’t even know what will happen there next week.
In late summer, Pakistan said it had routed the Taliban from the Swat Valley. A CIA missile killed the Taliban chief. Things were looking good.
Fast forward.Last week four major attacks within eight days occurred in the Swat Valley, the last killing 41 people.
The USA doesn’t just have problems with the Taliban and Al Queda. Pakistan military and civilians are not happy with conditions placed by our government on massive US aid packages which insists Pakistan do more to control its armed forces and fight Islamist extremists. That is a huge problem for our military. Pakistan wants to fight this war its way and wants it to look like it is not an American war. Pakistan wants full ownership. This has been going on for years. GWB gave Pakistan 3 billion to flush out Al Queda in those caves along its borders. But no; Pakistan took that money and bought fighter jets in case India got frisky.
According to Major General Athar Abbas, 80% of the attacks have been planned there or near Pakistan. So, why send 40,000 more troops to dusty little villages in rural Afghanistan . To do what? Monitor the poppy fields?
I have read the President has the ear of about 60 military strategists including those who are experts in the Middle East. They know far better than anyone on this forum just what the situation is in the Middle East.
Frank, we could be there 15 years or 25 years. There’s not a thing to be gained unless we can set up a stable government that is not corrupt. Fat chance. Nothing has worked there so far. There is no incentive. The UN acts like it’s interested when it’s not. The Bush administration spent massive amounts of money attempting to teach the Afghans how to irrigate and plant vegetables/orchards for consumption and market. Irrigating sand was a costly failure, and why grow eggplant and tangerines when opium will always be in demand?
If Al Queda was in Pakistan/ Afghanistan only, I could understand troop increase. But there are cells all over the world, doing well and flourishing in Africa and parts of South America, just for starters. To boot, we have our own terrorists right here that need monitoring. The latest was from Jordan and had been over staying his visa. The FBI believes there are approximately 200,000 people who have overstayed their welcome for years.

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