Comments on: Afghanistan, Neighbors React to the Obama Plan http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/afghanistan-neighbors-react-to-obama.html Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:17:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: glen http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/afghanistan-neighbors-react-to-obama.html#comment-1063 glen Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:59:11 +0000 http://www.juancole.com/?p=4815#comment-1063 Bhopal: 25 years on.<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8392358.stm<br /><br />This puts 9/11 into perspective, and all subsequent actions. Bhopal: 25 years on.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8392358.stm

This puts 9/11 into perspective, and all subsequent actions.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/afghanistan-neighbors-react-to-obama.html#comment-1062 Anonymous Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:12:19 +0000 http://www.juancole.com/?p=4815#comment-1062 http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175172/tomgram%3A__meet_the_commanded-in-chief/<br /><br />December 3, 2009<br /><br />Victory at Last! Monty Python in Afghanistan<br />By Tom Engelhardt<br /><br />Let others deal with the details of President Obama’s Afghan speech, with the on-ramps and off-ramps, those 30,000 U.S. troops going in and just where they will be deployed, the benchmarks for what’s called “good governance” in Afghanistan, the corruption of the Karzai regime, the viability of counterinsurgency warfare, the reliability of NATO allies, and so on. Let’s just skip to the most essential point which, in a nutshell, is this: Victory at Last!<br /><br />It’s been a long time coming, but finally American war commanders have effectively marshaled their forces, netcentrically outmaneuvering and outflanking the enemy. They have shocked-and-awed their opponents, won the necessary hearts-and-minds, and so, for the first time in at least two decades, stand at the heights of success, triumphant at last. <br /><br />And no, I’m not talking about post-surge Iraq and certainly not about devolving Afghanistan. I’m talking about what’s happening in Washington.<br /><br />A Symbolic Surrender of Civilian Authority link to tomdispatch.com
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December 3, 2009

Victory at Last! Monty Python in Afghanistan
By Tom Engelhardt

Let others deal with the details of President Obama’s Afghan speech, with the on-ramps and off-ramps, those 30,000 U.S. troops going in and just where they will be deployed, the benchmarks for what’s called “good governance” in Afghanistan, the corruption of the Karzai regime, the viability of counterinsurgency warfare, the reliability of NATO allies, and so on. Let’s just skip to the most essential point which, in a nutshell, is this: Victory at Last!

It’s been a long time coming, but finally American war commanders have effectively marshaled their forces, netcentrically outmaneuvering and outflanking the enemy. They have shocked-and-awed their opponents, won the necessary hearts-and-minds, and so, for the first time in at least two decades, stand at the heights of success, triumphant at last.

And no, I’m not talking about post-surge Iraq and certainly not about devolving Afghanistan. I’m talking about what’s happening in Washington.

A Symbolic Surrender of Civilian Authority

]]> By: MonsieurGonzo http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/afghanistan-neighbors-react-to-obama.html#comment-1061 MonsieurGonzo Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:25:12 +0000 http://www.juancole.com/?p=4815#comment-1061 <i>ref</i> <b>: “</b><i>Indians are miffed that their country was not mentioned in the speech... Afghanistan is an arena of contention between Islamabad and New Delhi. In the 1980s and 90s, various armed groups were backed by one country or the other. The Taliban were supported by Pakistan, the Northern Alliance by India</i>.<b>”</b> This dynamic is rarely mentioned by American media, and not well-known by the American public (which is, of course another example of why we tune in to <i>Informed Comment</i>, n'est-ce pas? :) I think propagation of this knowledge will be a revelation to many, Juan. <b>“</b><i>If we go back to that kind of ‘proxy war’ inside Afghanistan, it will be ruinous</i>.<b>”</b> This is imho the greatest risk of General Petraeus' strategy, (not, "the re-establishment of al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan" ~ <i>bases</i> being in the minds of most Americans that media loop of al Qaeda guerrillas working out on monkey bars and firing ranges ~ the appearance of which at any scale larger than a license plate would be instantly vaporized by ‘Death From Above’ satellite and drone-driven air power: whether NATO-American ground troops were occupying the country, or not, fwiw). The Generals' COIN strategy, already showing signs of fracturing the tapestry of Afghan society along age-old ethnic and/or tribal rifts, by design pits one set of Afghan peoples, "legitimate forces," against another set, "illegitimate forces" — with the unintended consequence of one set or the other having geopolitical appeal to one Super or Regional Power or another. iow, Generals Petraeus and McChrystal appear (to this writer) for all intents and purposes to be striving to establish Civil Law & Order through some mechanism of "controlled and contained" Civil War... with fingers crossed that history will not repeat itself. ref : “Indians are miffed that their country was not mentioned in the speech… Afghanistan is an arena of contention between Islamabad and New Delhi. In the 1980s and 90s, various armed groups were backed by one country or the other. The Taliban were supported by Pakistan, the Northern Alliance by India.” This dynamic is rarely mentioned by American media, and not well-known by the American public (which is, of course another example of why we tune in to Informed Comment, n'est-ce pas? :) I think propagation of this knowledge will be a revelation to many, Juan. “If we go back to that kind of ‘proxy war’ inside Afghanistan, it will be ruinous.” This is imho the greatest risk of General Petraeus' strategy, (not, "the re-establishment of al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan" ~ bases being in the minds of most Americans that media loop of al Qaeda guerrillas working out on monkey bars and firing ranges ~ the appearance of which at any scale larger than a license plate would be instantly vaporized by ‘Death From Above’ satellite and drone-driven air power: whether NATO-American ground troops were occupying the country, or not, fwiw). The Generals' COIN strategy, already showing signs of fracturing the tapestry of Afghan society along age-old ethnic and/or tribal rifts, by design pits one set of Afghan peoples, "legitimate forces," against another set, "illegitimate forces" — with the unintended consequence of one set or the other having geopolitical appeal to one Super or Regional Power or another. iow, Generals Petraeus and McChrystal appear (to this writer) for all intents and purposes to be striving to establish Civil Law & Order through some mechanism of "controlled and contained" Civil War… with fingers crossed that history will not repeat itself.

]]> By: Canada Guy http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/afghanistan-neighbors-react-to-obama.html#comment-1060 Canada Guy Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:44:43 +0000 http://www.juancole.com/?p=4815#comment-1060 If Russia wants to get rid of the opium problem, they should be supporting an end to the war. The Taliban banned it before and will likely do so again after the war is over.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.watchinghistory.com/2009/10/opium-in-afghanistan.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.watchinghistory.com/2009/10/opium-in-afghanistan.html</a> If Russia wants to get rid of the opium problem, they should be supporting an end to the war. The Taliban banned it before and will likely do so again after the war is over.

http://www.watchinghistory.com/2009/10/opium-in-afghanistan.html

]]> By: Hmmmm http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/afghanistan-neighbors-react-to-obama.html#comment-1059 Hmmmm Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:55:40 +0000 http://www.juancole.com/?p=4815#comment-1059 <i>They (Taliban) dismissed Hamid Karzai as a Western puppet.</i><br /><br />The Hamid Karzai puppet-- that's a hoot. Mortimer Snerd made a better puppet. I can only speculate that the puppeteer is somewhat disappointed. They (Taliban) dismissed Hamid Karzai as a Western puppet.

The Hamid Karzai puppet– that's a hoot. Mortimer Snerd made a better puppet. I can only speculate that the puppeteer is somewhat disappointed.

]]> By: jannaohn http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/afghanistan-neighbors-react-to-obama.html#comment-1058 jannaohn Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:05:48 +0000 http://www.juancole.com/?p=4815#comment-1058 Professor Cole,<br /><br />During President Obama's speech about Afghanistan he turned to the camera and talked to the people of Afghanistan.(how many of them have access to the media) He told them that the U.S. was not there to occupy their country. He also encouraged Taliban members to SURRENDER. When 2000 or more Taliban members who had surrendered in the fall of 2001 were allowed to suffocate under our watch as they were being transported in convoys. (The Afghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death (Documentary) Not only has there not been any accountability for this horrible tragedy our leaders, our MSM have completely ignored this crime and tragedy. The only journalist in the states who reported anything about this tragedy was Amy Goodman who I believe is one of the best journalist in the world. Keith Olbermann etc have never even whispered anything about these murders of SURRENDERE Taliban.<br /><br />Why would Taliban members SURRENDER to foroces who allowed such a crime to take place and then swept it under the rug? Professor Cole,

During President Obama's speech about Afghanistan he turned to the camera and talked to the people of Afghanistan.(how many of them have access to the media) He told them that the U.S. was not there to occupy their country. He also encouraged Taliban members to SURRENDER. When 2000 or more Taliban members who had surrendered in the fall of 2001 were allowed to suffocate under our watch as they were being transported in convoys. (The Afghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death (Documentary) Not only has there not been any accountability for this horrible tragedy our leaders, our MSM have completely ignored this crime and tragedy. The only journalist in the states who reported anything about this tragedy was Amy Goodman who I believe is one of the best journalist in the world. Keith Olbermann etc have never even whispered anything about these murders of SURRENDERE Taliban.

Why would Taliban members SURRENDER to foroces who allowed such a crime to take place and then swept it under the rug?

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