Posted by Adam on September 13, 2001, at 16:08:09
In reply to But, it's not that easy, is it?-Adam, posted by Krazy Kat on September 13, 2001, at 11:36:09
Also, just to clarify, part of the reason I think a war in Afghanistan is a "stupid" idea is fairly practical: Fighting bin Laden on his home turf proved untenable for one superpower already, back when the Soviets were trying to root him out in the 70s. It is no exageration to say that Afghanistan was their Vietnam, and cost upwards of 100,000 Soviet lives in combat.
It's another one of those incredible ironies, when you think bin Laden, and the mujahadeen were "our guys" once too, a bit like Saddam Hussein was our guy before the Gulf War. We ally ourselves with fanatics against a common enemy, train them, fund them, sell them weapons and build up their infrastructure. Apparently bin Laden hides out in subterrenian fortresses in the Afghan mountains we built for the mujahadeen 25 some odd years ago. When something like that comes round and bites us in the arse, maybe it's a good time to reflect on "business as usual", realpolitik and the like, and consider what it gets us.
There is a saying: Nations have no friends, only interests.
Maybe we should focus on real international friendships. Even with Afghanis. The country is on the verge of collapse. The Afghani people have suffered under a radical regime of religious perverts for years, now, and drought threatens to kill millions. The country has been isolated already, which, as is usual in such cases, has served largely to strengthen the position of the oppressors (think Castro and Hussein). We've payed less attention to the plight of the Afghanis than even sub-Saharan Africa, and sent precious little aid to ease their suffering. If we start bombing Afghanistan, they will suffer the most, I'm sure, and bin Laden could conceivably escape entirely, as he did when the Soviets wanted him. We have to be careful, and considerate.
> Throw us some more thoughts, please Adam! :)
>
> - K.
poster:Adam
thread:11152
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010909/msgs/11315.html