07-28-2010, 10:51
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#1
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
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It’s Time To Leave Afghanistan
Political view from New Hampshire.
It’s Time To Leave Afghanistan
Bob Bestani, NHBR, 28 Jul 2010
Bob Bestani is a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District, and a businessman who helped start two businesses in Afghanistan.
BLUF - Our security can be much better defended by securing our borders and investing our money in our intelligence capabilities.
http://www.nhbr.com/businessnews/opi...ghanistan.html
And so it goes...
Richard 
__________________
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
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Richard is offline
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07-28-2010, 13:33
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#2
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Area Commander
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: USA-Germany
Posts: 1,574
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My .02,
Mr. Bestani's article was food for thought but I disagree with his opinions. I'm sure there are parallels between our involvement in Vietnam and Afghanistan, however his Hanoi analogy can be interpreted either way. Berlin and Tokyo are also bustling and vibrant, partially because we were committed and put in the resources to rebuild these countries instilling stability and a chance for prosperity going forward. Hindsight is 20/20 in some ways Vietnam seems less convoluted due simply to IMHO the unique challenges of Afghanistan's mountainous terrain. We chose not to go into North Vietnam and topple Hanoi, what if we had? In contrast, we could take Pakistan over, but the challenge would remain to root AQ out of those dark mountains. Would they find similar cover or refuge in the topography of Yemen, Somalia, etc?
As for the price, we are losing good troops over there, what is the value of preempting further attacks on our shores, possibly nuclear or chemical ones? Their sacrifices should not be in vain, so we need a clear plan, but the cynic in me thinks enhancing our border security is at best seeking a cure for an ailment instead of preventive medicine, but more likely proposing a cyclical solution to a systemic challenge . It is much easier to paint over the holes in a wall than to fix the wall, but what is the utility here besides winning an election? Would enhancing our intelligence capabilities entail developing "illegals" for Afghanistan like the dozen Russians we expelled, or buying more high tech gizmos that can monitor everything but the motivations of the Afghan people?
What if instead we said, America stands with the Afghan people, we will stay as long as it takes to rid the Afghan people of the plague of these foreign insurgents and radicals, to build a secure and prosperous nation and a stable region, which is also aligned with America's best interests.
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"Men Wanted: for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.” -Sir Ernest Shackleton
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” –Greek proverb
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akv is offline
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07-28-2010, 15:06
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#3
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: 11 miles from Dove Creek, Colorady
Posts: 3,924
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America has never had a taste for protracted foreign wars.
Folks were even getting tired of WWII's crusade and we were only in it for less than 4 years.
Drawn out wars far from home have been the downfall of many an empire regardless of how noble the reason for them may have been (and it usually wasn't very)..
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"...But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive."
Shakespeare - Henry V
Lazy Bob Ranch
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Utah Bob is offline
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07-28-2010, 15:57
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#4
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Area Commander
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,760
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Whatever the merits of the war...
Whatever the merits of the Afghan people...
We might want to reflect on the implications of a number.
$13,262,365,556,893.52
Your individual share of this is: $42,944.57
That's the current federal debt. It increases by $4,120,000,000 every day.
Can we afford to stay the course? I wonder.
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Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero
Acronym Key:
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nmap is offline
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07-28-2010, 16:07
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#5
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Guerrilla Chief
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 695
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nmap
Whatever the merits of the war...
Whatever the merits of the Afghan people...
We might want to reflect on the implications of a number.
$13,262,365,556,893.52
Your individual share of this is: $42,944.57
That's the current federal debt. It increases by $4,120,000,000 every day.
Can we afford to stay the course? I wonder.
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Peak army? 
__________________
"Tyranny ain't going to happen, there's too many Jedi currently in the gene pool. The only path to tyranny is to kill all the Jedi, that ain't going to happen either."
- Team Sergeant
"It is a right. If they screw it up, you take it away from that individual. Not the group and not because you think you are smarter than they are."
- NousDefionsDoc
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Sten is offline
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07-28-2010, 16:32
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#6
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Georgetown, SC
Posts: 4,204
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Broadsword2004
We could afford to stay the course in Afghanistan, what we cannot afford is this multitrillion-dollar healthcare entitlement, the current out-of-control costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and this $800+ billion "stimulus" bill; they could actually have used the stimulus money alone to fund the Afghanistan war for the next seven years.
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Granted on most of the above, in that healthcare et al are undoubtedly bloated.
But, to what end are we staying in Afghanistan? What does "victory" look like, and when is a reasonable time that it might be achieved? Oh, by the way, even if we define the above, how do we make it happen?
The "bad guys" will pull up stakes and go elsewhere. Money, which is tight and about to get tighter, would be better spent pre-emptively identifying possible locations and preventing the spread.
Like healthcare, preventive medicine is usually the best path.
__________________
"I took a different route from most and came into Special Forces..." - Col. Nick Rowe
Last edited by ZonieDiver; 07-28-2010 at 16:36.
Reason: errors
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ZonieDiver is offline
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07-28-2010, 18:45
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#7
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Tampa
Posts: 2,530
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nmap
Whatever the merits of the war...
Whatever the merits of the Afghan people...
We might want to reflect on the implications of a number.
$13,262,365,556,893.52
Your individual share of this is: $42,944.57
That's the current federal debt. It increases by $4,120,000,000 every day.
Can we afford to stay the course? I wonder.
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For some odd reason, given the current "government" I feel this number would be damn near close to what is quoted above even if Afghanistan had never happened. 
Eagle
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Primum non Nocere
"I have hung out in dangerous places a lot over the years, from combat zones to biker bars, and it is the weak, the unaware, or those looking for it, that usually find trouble.
Ain't no one getting out of this world alive. All you can do is try to have some choice in the way you go. Prepare yourself (and your affairs), and when your number is up, die on your feet fighting rather than on your knees. And make the SOBs pay dearly."
The Reaper-3 Sep 04
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Eagle5US is offline
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07-31-2010, 11:18
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#8
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Nashville
Posts: 974
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Yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eagle5US
For some odd reason, given the current "government" I feel this number would be damn near close to what is quoted above even if Afghanistan had never happened.
Eagle |
http://immigrationcounters.com/
This is just illegals. No counting for welfare types, AFDC, section 8 housing, food stamps, school lunches plus more, plus every damn handout this country has.
Perhaps some think we can live off the Mexican Gov? Go tell them to give you the same deal in Mexico that they expect here.
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alright4u is offline
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07-31-2010, 09:25
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#9
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
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__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.
Still want to quit?
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NousDefionsDoc is offline
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