Jul 162010
 

The ongoing war still has more support than I would like to see, but will it matter?

Here are the results of a new poll:

16afghanistan Some 44 percent of Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan, a significant rise from earlier this year, according to a CBS news poll released Thursday.

In CBS’s last poll in May, only 37 percent of those questioned disapproved of the president’s approach to the conflict now in its ninth year.

Some 43 percent of those polled approve of Obama’s policies, about the same as the 44 percent who said they approved in May. But the number of undecideds dropped from 19 percent to 13 percent.

A majority of Americans believe the war is going either "somewhat" or "very badly" (62 percent) jumped from 49 percent in May…

Inserted from <Alternet>

I have to that the case for war can be somewhat compelling.  In a special report, Rachel Maddow, who recently traveled to Afghanistan, presented the case for war in a clear and unbiased matter.  Then she came to the same conclusion I have repeatedly expressed for the same reason.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Any COIN strategy cannot outperform the quality and integrity of the government that strategy is supporting.  No matter how pure our intentions, no matter how good a job out troops do (and the have performed admirably), no matter how many skirmishes we win, etc., in the end we’re left with Hamid Karzai.  Now freed from serving the purpose for which he was installed, to be the puppet for GW Bush and the Republican party, he now serves a purpose almost equally corrupt, his own self-interest.  With the scant quality and zero integrity his government provides, we have an unreachable goal.  To ask more troops to be killed and maimed in such a scenario is wrong.

Share

  2 Responses to “Afghanistan: Still a Black Hole?”

  1. Rachael make excellent points. As do you TC – there is the very slimest chance that this may work, but with Karzai in there, it will be impossible. I don’t have any solutions for this except to get the fluck out before it does turn into a Vietnam. Asking kids to die for this is not worth it.

    • Lisa, the points that Rachel made are essentially the some ones I made in my last Blogblast for Peace article. Sadly, the military will not give Obama good advice. To a hammer, nails are the only solution.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.