Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Barack Obama And The Taliban

As reported by The Associated Press, Afghanistan's insurgent Taliban marked the eighth anniversary of the U.S. invasion Wednesday saying they have no "agenda" to harm other countries but would continue fighting as long as America and its allies remain in the troubled nation.

The Taliban insistence that it would pose no threat to other countries appeared aimed at countering suspicions that the Islamist movement would support al-Qaida's global jihad if they returned to power. Supporters of the war fear that al-Qaida would regain its once-dominant position in Afghanistan if the Taliban topple the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

In an Internet statement Wednesday obtained by the SITE Institute, a U.S. group that monitors terror messages, the Taliban said their goal was "independence and establishment of an Islamic system."

"We did not have any agenda to harm other countries including Europe, nor we have such agenda today," the group said. "Still, if you want to turn the country of the proud and pious Afghans into a colony, then know that we have an unwavering determination and have braced for a prolonged war."

The statement came on the anniversary of the U.S. invasion that ousted the Taliban for harboring al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. U.S. forces first launched airstrikes into Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, less than a month after al-Qaida carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in Washington and New York.

The Taliban called on foreign forces to leave, an unlikely event despite heated debate in the U.S. over how to quell the conflict.

"We call on the American rulers and their allies of the coalition once again to put an end to the game of occupying Afghanistan and killing the Afghans under unsubstantiated pretexts," the statement said.

"At the beginning, they were promising they will withdraw within three months, in their words, after eliminating the so-called terrorism," the statement said, referring to U.S. forces. "Contrarily, today, eight years (later) ... they have built up hundreds of military bases in Afghanistan and Iraq."

"We believed from day one that this is not a war between democracy and the so-called terrorism, but rather a war between the Western colonialism and the freedom-loving nationalist and Islamist forces," the statement said.

I believe that as long as Obama keeps dragging his feet on Afghanistan, the Taliban will grow stronger. The stronger it gets, the more likely Americans - particularly moderates and independents - will stop supporting the Afghan war. Americans can only take losing soldiers for so long until we break.

However, it is in Obama's 2012 re-election interest to make the war in Afghanistan look like an un-winnable war. What he probably believes he needs to do right now is the bare minimum with regards to Afghanistan, all the while giving the appearance that he tried to make educated decisions on winning the war.

I believe that a large part of Obama's 2012 re-election campaign will be based on bringing home the troops from Afghanistan. This will likely cause the Republican challenger to declare his willingness to fight an un-winnable war. Obama's message on Afghanistan will be essentially the same as that which he used for Iraq during the 2008 Presidential campaign. This will solidify his base, and possibly bring war-weary moderates and independents to support him with their vote.

The difference is that because of his own inaction today, he will be able give the appearance that he tried reason and strategy to resolve the Afghanistan conflict. He will make it appear that it is Bush's fault for losing Afghanistan, because Bush focused too many resources on the war in Iraq, thus leaving Obama no option.



8 comments:

blackandgoldfan said...

I say pull our troops out and turn the frickin' mountains on the Pakistani border into green glass.

Won the war for us in WWII, didn't it?

In the meantime, it's time for BHO to quit coddling the enemy and start kicking their a$$.

Teresa said...

I wish we could somehow get the innocent civilians to a safe spot out of the country (I know unrealistic). Then we could leave only the necessary amount of troops in Afghanistan that will be neeeded for airstrikes to blow the place to smithereens.

Obama needs to start acting like a commander-in-chief, instead of a childish, egotistical schoolboy. He needs to think about our troops lives', and their families.

Z said...

your commenter Teresa has such an honorable sentiment and I couldn't help but think of how the Taliban would act HERE...Collateral damage reigns with islamist .."the more innocents the better".
This might be the very juxtaposition that gets Americans at home killed in the thousands...we're so intent on being nice, so intent on not too much fire power over there...
Still, who could want innocents dead? NOBODY. But our enemy.

The phrase "...tried to make educated decisions on winning the war" tripped me up in your post, Soloman...imagine Obama making an educated decision?! I wonder if he's ever given one thought to the hundreds of scientists who don't support Gore's global change doomsday scenarios....no, I don't wonder, not really. re; this war or health care, one gets the feeling all Obama cares about is HIM, how things LOOK...passing out white lab coats, etc.....today, I hear he and BIDEN are going to discuss the war; is that comforting? :-) The 2 big experts!??

Kid said...

Isn't he just so cute with his little Erkle peeved face. ?

Soloman said...

B&G - it is certainly obvious that we can't just walk away, but we're getting nowhere the way we're going.

And it would be neat to have a huge Disney and Six Flags on the other side of the world to go visit...

Soloman said...

Teresa - yes, your thought is unrealistic but good-hearted, which is better than I can see from what Obama and the liberals want, which is clearly for that region to live with no rights for women and complete religious tyranny.

But they're the perfect people, the liberals are, and we're just racists haters..

Soloman said...

Z - wow, you went kinda all over the board there, I'm not sure where to go...

What freaks me out is that this entire situation, which granted he inherited but he ASKED to inherit, may very well become a marketing strategy for reelection, when he has the POWER but not the BALLS to do anything about it right now..

'nuff said, I guess..

Soloman said...

Kid - yeah.. cute like a skunk, about to turn tail and let you have it...