The year 2009 has already been the deadliest year in Afghanistan for U.S troops. 867 Americans have died to date. And even more Afghan civilians have died as ‘collateral damage’ from US air bombardments as well from the sharp increase in suicide bombings. It’s no wonder that Afghan opposition to our presence is growing. Far from solving the problems, our aggressive military operations are part of the problem.
So what is the alternative? True security will not come through military means. It will come from a negotiation process involving all groups in Afghanistan, a regional diplomatic push, and a long term commitment by all to building up Afghan institutions.
We're now passing eight years of war in Afghanistan, one of our country's longest wars. War has had its day and failed. The war in Afghanistan is neither good nor necessary. Now give peace a chance.
*Thanks to the American Friends Service Committee for the above text.
Please rewatch Charlie Wilson's War.
And as Bill Van Auken recently wrote:
"The debacle confronting U.S. imperialism in Afghanistan is one of its own making. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are both the products of previous U.S. interventions in Afghanistan. Beginning in 1979, Washington funneled billions of dollars in arms and aid to Islamist guerrillas seeking to topple the country’s Soviet-backed government. It deliberately instigated a Soviet invasion and war that claimed over a million lives, turned another five million into refugees and wrecked the entire society."
Rebuilding can only happen when we put the guns down. We only have two hands.
