The war in Afghanistan is “going to be much tougher than Iraq,” according to Richard Holbrooke, the State Department’s special envoy. Tougher than Iraq? Does that mean the Afghanistan war will last another six years or more? Will the death toll be worse than 4,200 soldiers and over 100,000 civilians killed? And will Afghanistan cost more than the $3 trillion our country will have spent on Iraq when all is said and done?
The time has come to Rethink Afghanistan, and one of the best ways we can is through Congressional oversight hearings. These deliberative hearings are fundamental to raising critical questions, examining the Pentagon’s plans, and investigating military spending before this war spirals out of control. Historically, oversight hearings have played a major role in our system of checks and balances in wartime, except during the Bush administration.
In the past, you helped Uncovered: The War on Iraq penetrate the national consciousness, compelling people to examine the reasons for war. Thousands of you screened and distributed Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers, which caused war profiteering to become a national concern. Now we need your help demanding Congressional oversight hearings to Rethink Afghanistan. Sign the petition and urge Senator John Kerry and Representative Howard Berman to hold oversight hearings immediately. Then, watch the introductory video and send it around, alerting people to the urgency of this situation and the need for hearings.
Congressional hearings, coupled with vigorous public debate, would allow experts in the field to raise key questions that must be answered. To that end, we are launching a series of online debates featuring prominent thinkers and progressives.
Watch political activist Tom Hayden debate whether we need more troops with Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution. See bloggers David Atkins of Daily Kos and The Seminal’s Jason Rosenbaum debate whether escalation would hurt President Obama’s domestic agenda. And don’t miss Jon Rainwater from Peace Action West and Brookings’ Jeremy Shapiro as they weigh in on whether military action will reduce the risk of terrorism in the United States.
The issues raised in these debates could serve as topics for Congressional oversight hearings that re-examine our country’s approach toward Afghanistan. We look forward to more debates; to producing several videos that look at troops, costs, and military objectives; and to collaborating with the bloggers who have been writing about these issues at Get Afghanistan Right. Let’s work together to inform the public and ask the pressing questions our elected leaders must answer. Let’s do everything possible to rethink Afghanistan while there’s still time.
We need an Obama Doctrine which states simply that the United States will limit in time, personnel, and treasure investments in obviously corrupt governments, unless there is an obvious, immediate, and overwhelming national interest that demands our involvement and which enjoys broad popular and congressional support.
The Obama Doctrine would be the principled basis for a timely and dramatic exodus of the United States and its NATO allies from Afghanistan. This doctrine would have the collateral benefit of warning other integrity deficit governments which the US has inadvertently sponsored from time to time.
Regarding the 9/11 attacks, please note that most of the actual terrorists originated in Saudi Arabia, not Afghanistan or Iraq, but we declined to attack that nation and it contains more oil than Afghanistan and Iraq combined. When combined with our inept and uninspired pursuit of Ben Ladin, our presence in both nations borders on the absurd.
That is not true. They may have been born in Saudi Arabia but they were trained and operated out of a safe haven in Afghanistan provided to Al Qaeda by the Taliban. It's not a crime they were born in Saudi Arabia – it's a crime that they carried out their attacks operating from Afghanistan where they were given safe harbor.
You are right, the whole thing is a farce. While alied troops are kicking about in the dust, the economic foundations of our society is being ravaged by corruption within. If Bin Laden was alive today he would be laughing his ass off.
This 'war on terrorism' is a 'war OF terrorism'. The rich fucking over the poor is all it is.
Have these Washington think tanks really swallowed the naive idea that we are in Afghanistan because of terrorists? These terrorists, Osama included, were nurtured by us for the object of access and control of the holy of holies – the pipelines and the land-blocked oil reserves of central Asia.
Our foreign legion is there to conquer and guard. They work for the oil companies. They die for the oil companies and we pay them to do it.
I think the world has suffered enough from our “goodness” and our insufferable arrogance.and time is running out.
Marika, I dont think the 'Think Tanks' believe it, I think they are the ones perpetuating the lie.
This Afghanistan thing is crazy, it isn't even a country, its a geographical region. Shoring up oil and gas from the Caspian Sea basin is what it is all about, same with the missle defense system in Eastern Europe and all the crap in Georgia. I see what the Neocons are/were trying to do but its over, America is bankrupt and Russia is seizing the opportunity with its closure of the Northern supply line into Afghanistan, its laying down the law with Georgia and now its partnership with China to become a protectorite of Venezuella (case in point Russian nuclear submarines based of the coast of Carracus in perpetual war games (if you believe it)). Its a bloody mess and a huge waste of innocent lives and Americas position in the world.
Marika – I feel sorry for you. You are so misguided. What don't you understand about terrorism? About Al Qaeda and The Taliban? They are fanatic, Islamo Facist religious lunatics dedicated to imposing their narrow vision of morality on the world. They seek the extermination of Jews, they behead people without trials, they stone to death, they oppress women, they bomb and slaughter innocent civilians.
If the Pakistanis with their population of 178M, yes million, cannot secure their country from the Taliban, perhaps we might consider that whatever force we can set down in the region – regardless of their professionalism, dedication, and kill ratio – will be exceptionally unlikely to pacify a bordering nation with 32M people.
This is lunacy.
And now the Taliban has been granted safe harbor in Pakistan – a Muslim nation with 178m people and nuclear weapons.
You suggest we proceed by trying to pacify Afghanistan?
If the Taliban are the problem, and they have now been granted a safe haven in Pakistan, does our continued presence threaten to create a nuclear Taliban?
The US will fail in Afghanistan for the simple reason that the US military is fighting a war that cannot be won, no matter how many troops are escalated in.
Victory is impossible and nobody will accept being blamed for losing it, so the war goes on and on. It's been over seven years so far, and nobody yet can explain how we achieve victory in this war, popularly known as the 'War on Terror' but more descriptively known as 'War against those responsible for the 9/11 attacks'.
If you don't know, the goal written out by Congress in the legislation that started this madness is 'preventing future terrorism' by our enemies (whom Bush announced as al-Qaeda and the Taliban). Now, all we need is someone to explain how we prevent future terrorism by creating more enemies every time we blow up most of a wedding party.
In a few years, we will be killing members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban who weren't even born yet when 9/11 occurred. Will we still be preventing future terrorism then, when we kill them?
Congress must revoke the authority that they ceded to the President with their execrable legislative crapola of Public Law 107-40. Congress started this insanity and Congress must end it.
locust writes…”In a few years, we will be killing members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban who weren't even born yet when 9/11 occurred.”
What a depressing thought, depressing because it is true. We are causing future 'blowback' for our kids, many of whom were also not born before 9/11 by kids who right now are trying to understand why their parents have been killed in bombings. And people want to stay in Afghanistan and win… win what I wonder. This whole thing is being perpetuated to save face. Like Vietnam it has become a war of vanity and arrogance.
During last few centuries, there were several attempts to gain controll over Afghanistan, and all of them failed.
There are few cities, and the rest is rocky desert, dusty plains and mountains. Nobody can obtain controll for one simple reason, and that is, if someone takes a mountain, talibans will move on next one.
And one more thing, Afghans do not need much to survive there, but US forces need tanks, APC, planes, comms, ammo, food, water and lots of other stuff.
It is a target rich environment for Afghan militants, and they don't care how many of them will die as long as they get to kill enemy soldiers.
This is draining money from USA, and people in US are suffering, economy becomes shaky, and that instability is spilling over to Europe and Asia, causing domino effect and further troubles.
That is the real danger in this situation, not some dusty scruffy riders with old russian rifles.
Trust me Willie, outside America, no one gives a shit about Afghanistan. We supply troops because we have to as part of our responsibilities towards NATO. This is an American game, a war of stupidity with no goal at the end, no prise, and no winner. There is no point in our blood being spilled there because we could easily bribe the warlords to run the country our way and get out. We go on about democracy but Afghanistan isn't a country… its a geographic location with a dust road running through it.
The real reason for our presance is being kept from us, for if we are being told the truth the US government has gone mad.
Craig, I wonder, why do you send troops in Afghanistan at all? There is nothing to be controlled over there.
Unless …
Someone wants to controll heroin production, oil pipeline to Central Asia, substantial mining potential of that region which includes even gas and oil, and cover the whole plunder and grabbing with “young fragile democracy”. (Nobody mentioned it comes in gun barrel.)
Now, they would not kill people just for that, would they?
I think there is a project going on in that part of the world to shore up natural resources for western corporations. Its friggin mental because it could start WW3. I think some people on main street are on to this and think that they will benefit from it – they want their heads examined – just like the recent bailout for the banks shows, in America everything done is for the corporations and while all benefits are awarded to them all the pain is carried on the shoulders of the duped masses. The oil and gas of the Caspian basin is being stollen at a rate of 1,000,000 barrels a day, Americans are getting none of it. This oil is for the corporations while the masses absorb all the risk.
As slight majority of Brits are still in favour of the war in Afghanistan but only because of empathy for the crime of 9/11. This has nothing to do with 9/11 though. 9/11 was a crime by a bunch of assholes from Saudi-Arabia, and they are now dead. People who argue that they visited Afghanistan for training means that Afghanistan should be targeted need to soak their heads in a bucket of water – 9/11 was a Saudi-Arabia project from planning and leadership down to the opperational level. Yet before my eyes the Bush gov. invaded two countries synicly in the name of 9/11 with twisted far fetched logic, aided and assisted by a complicit media and discraceful Hollywood propaganda.
People believe this crap – which is the answer to your question – Brits are there because they angry about 9/11, so they should be, but at Saudi-Arabia.
It's been over seven years so far, and nobody yet can explain how we achieve victory in this war..
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It's been over seven years so far, and nobody yet can explain how we achieve victory in this war..
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