Clip File: Afghanistan Apocalypse

Although understandable in the wake of 9/11, military action in Afghanistan was from the beginning a mistake, among other things serving to raise a band of criminal whack jobs to the stature of "warriors." Because of chronic failure of leadership by the foreign policy professionals, what should have been a police matter escalated into a tragic, pointless and apparently endless war. Although the occupation of Iraq distracted us for a while, our government is determined now to turn a bad policy decision into an intractable catastrophe, for us and for the region. A punitive expedition that lasts nine years is already a failure. Now is the time to stop it; we don't need to wait until we have to slice into The National Mall for an Afghanistan War Memorial.

Yesterday afternoon at the Brookings Institution, four analysts portrayed a bleak and terrifying vision of the current state of affairs in Afghanistan in the wake of the presidential election. All four were hawkish, reflecting a growing consensus in the Washington establishment that the Afghanistan war is only just beginning.

Their conclusions: (1) A significant escalation of the war will be necessary to avoid utter defeat. (2) Even if tens of thousands of troops are added to the US occupation, it won't be possible to determine if the US/NATO effort is succeeding until eighteen months later. (3) Even if the United States turns the tide in Afghanistan, no significant drawdown of US forces will take place until five years have passed.
....
Not a single panelist questioned the goals, purpose or objectives of the Afghan war. Not one said anything about a political solution to the war, about negotiations, or about diplomacy. Not one questioned the viability of an open-ended commitment to the war. And none of them had any doubts about the strategic necessity of defeating the Taliban and its allies.

The rest of the story: Afghanistan Apocalypse by Robert Dreyfuss (The Nation 2009-08-26)

See, also: Bill Moyers on Afghanistan (interview with Bill Maher2009-08-30)

Take action:
Call Congress at 202-225-3121 and the White House at 202-456-111. You can also email the White House here.
Chelsea Uniting Against the War BBQ this Sunday
Organizing committee for Boston antiwar action October 17
Antiwar.com's links to local, national and international antiwar organizations.