THE POWER OF 3: AL QAEDA, TALIBAN & AFGHAN NATIONAL ARMY

We must get out of Afghanistan now.

The WSJ reports that General McChrystal wants as many as 60,000 more troops to fight the war in Afghanistan. Whether we send 1,000 troops or 100,000 troops, are we really capable of "winning" the war against all of these negative forces? I say NO; I say get the hell out of dodge.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said al Qaeda has focused on hitting the U.S., while danger posed by the Taliban "was somewhat different" and less threatening. That's interesting because it was the Taliban, 300+ strong, that attacked our outposts last weekend. AP article here. In fact, my friend's husband led about 60 troops from the top of a mountain, down into the location of the attack. And yet the Taliban is less threatening than al Qaeda? Really?

Also reported to me by a member of the front line was that the Afghan National Army did not help the American troops at all. Apparently, members of the new army are easily paid off by the Taliban. In fact, our troops have implemented a buddy system even for bathroom breaks because they do not trust the Afghan National Army troops.

What is our mission in Afghanistan? We are not trying to bring down one regime, as we did with Sadam Hussein. There is no single leader, there is no single mission. We are fighting al Qaeda forces within Afghanistan and also seeking to keep them from entering from Pakistan. We are fighting the Taliban. And, we are trying to train an Afghan army that apparently is already rooted with corruption. Three forces, three issues, three reasons to get out of Afghanistan.

As a side note, an increase in helicopters is a silly request if the helicopters can't reach dangerous mountain regions. For example, the attack last weekend was in a remote village that prevented helicopters from landing closely; thus, the men had to be dropped off at the top of a mountain and then had to hike downhill. Here is yet another example that quantity of troops or resources are not the answer. The answer is that the United States must leave or we will never get out of there.

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com

IT IS NO MYTH: ONLY A TROJAN HORSE COULD PROVIDE VICTORY IN AFGHANISTAN

Obama needs to get the hell out of Afghanistan now. All of these meetings, briefings, memos and summaries are a waste of time. The death toll is rising at a rapid rate, the cost is absolutely absurd, and the people who suggested we enter Iraq are the very same people saying we need more troops in Afghanistan. The idea that we are winning in Afghanistan is only myth that ends with us conquering them with a Trojan horse. You think that sounds absurd? So do I.

Death Toll

With every meeting comes another death. With every briefing comes another roadside bomb. We are losing allies. Just last Thursday, six Italian soldiers were killed - the worst attack on the Italians since their entrance into Afghanistan.

The death toll in July was 76 and August was 77, the highest ever. Before July, the highest number was an entire year prior - August 2008 - the death toll was 46. As of today, September 22, the death toll is 55.  Surely, we can expect more casualties before October 1.

Since 2004, we have lost over 50 more soldiers each year than the previous year. The numbers are going up, not down.

Clearly, the Taliban is getting more violent and are are losing more power. The numbers speak for themselves. Clearly, something is terribly wrong: something like, we need to get the hell out of Afghanistan. We can protect American soil on American soil. We cannot protect American soil in the land of poppy plants, roadside bombs and "martyrs" who believe in killing insurgents -- that would be us, just in case you were wondering.

Courtesty of icasualtiesCost

According to David R. Francis of The Christian Science Monitor: Full Article here.

For the first time, the war in Afghanistan in the next budget year will cost Americans more than the war in Iraq. By the end of the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, the total military budget costs for both wars will have exceeded $1 trillion.

That’s more than the cost of the Vietnam War, adjusting for inflation, or any other US war except World War II ($3.2 trillion in 2007 dollars).

A trillion dollars is hard to imagine. Think of it this way: If you had an expense account good for $1 million a day, it would take 2,935 years to spend $1.071 trillion, which is the actual estimate for the wars’ price tag by Travis Sharp of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington. He reckons the two conflicts will have cost the typical American family of four roughly $13,000 by next year.

Wars, even counterinsurgency conflicts, are expensive in lives and dollars.

Why is Afghanistan getting so expensive? The US is sending more troops, of course. It also costs about 50 percent more to keep a soldier in Afghanistan than in Iraq, says Linda Bilmes, a Harvard University economist. In sharp contrast to flat, urbanized Iraq, most of Afghanistan’s population lives in rural, mountainous terrain with few good roads to link them up.

Officially, Afghanistan war costs are budgeted at $65 billion for fiscal 2010, somewhat more than the $61 billion for the Iraq war.

So as Americans struggle -- they are without jobs, without heath insurance, their homes are in foreclosure -- they continue to pay for a war that has no end. They continue to pay for a war that is providing no answers.

What if we pulled out of Afghanistan and applied all of that money to domestic protection? The best place to protect your home is at your front door, not thousands of miles away, in the mountainous region of Afghanistan.

Infrastructure

The same people who advised Bush to enter Iraq and Afghanistan are advising Obama. The internal forces have not changed. Gen. McChrystal recently stated in a "Commander's Summary" that, "Time matters; we must act now to reverse the negative trends and demonstrate progress." This is the same guy who said, in April 2003 after the fall of Baghdad, "I would anticipate that the major combat engagements are over." He also looks in the mirror every day knowing he was behind the cover-up of the Pat Tillman "friendly fire" incident.  On June 10, 2009 McChrystal was promoted to General - a decision by Obama himself. Shortly thereafter, McChrystal assumed command of NATO operations, Operation Khanjar commenced, marking the largest offensive operation and the beginning of the deadliest combat month for NATO forces since 2001.

This guy is out of his mind. What has he done besides make terribly wrong decisions and create terribly inaccurate plans?

Obama needs to stop relying on the same guys who advised Bush. That's great: send more troops to Afghanistan. But then what? What is the plan? How do we stop the drugs flowing out of there? How do we stop the killing? How do we convince our allies to stay?

Sending more troops is not the answer -- Obama, we gotta get the hell outta there. Pronto.

 www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com