Saturday, November 14, 2009

Leaving Afghanistan to US 'Experts'

By David Swanson
November 14, 2009

The last time I was on Laura Flanders's GRIT TV I argued that the American public opposed the occupation of Afghanistan, but another guest -- some Washington, D.C., "progressive" -- argued that this had no relevance, since the American public didn't know anything about Afghanistan.

Read on.
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeez, David.... couldn't you have left just one or two arguments for us arm chair experts to think were uniquely ours?

Instead you've given a perverse verson of the Powell doctrine: overwhelming rational force.

Terrific!

George Collins

Sat Nov 14, 07:45:00 PM 2009
democratic core said...

If President Obama does nothing else in his term in office, he has already revolutionized Washington. He did it on March 24, 2009 at a press conference, when in responding to some particularly foolish question by a CNN reporter, Obama stated, "I generally like to know what I'm talking about before I speak." In today's hyper-partisan atmosphere, this statement was revolutionary. We are bombarded by pundits and politicians - both left and right - who have ideologically-driven pat answers to all questions, and for whom actual facts are irrelevant. A President might have general ideas about the Afghan War, but sensible President would want answers literally to thousands of questions before deciding how to proceed - what is "al Qaeda"? where is al Qaeda? what is the likely impact of US withdrawal on the future viability of al Qaeda? what ability does the US have to shape future actions of al Qaeda by military activity in Afghanistan? if the US can affect al Qaeda's viability through military action in Afghanistan, what type of action is likely to be most effective? what alternatives to military action are there? are any non-military actions likely to be successful without some level of military action? etc., etc., etc. Obama seems to be someone who actually asks these types of questions. However, all the media feeds us is ideologues who haven't even bothered to ask the questions, let alone get the answers.

Sun Nov 15, 04:58:00 PM 2009
Anonymous said...

In my 76 years, self-proclaimed 'experts'...(who annointed them?)...are often as not simply WRONG. Either they can't tell their ass from their pie hole, or if actually knowlegeable, are too keen on doing the opposite of what makes legitimate sense in a given situation. This applies to every field.
Expert in war? War is rarely if ever the wise thing to do, with a nickles worth of hind sight, all wars could be avoided. THINK it over. Mostly we go to/start-war because we WANT to, with bogus reasons/excuses. The US has been involved in war continuously since the end of WW2, either for outright LIES or to overthrow/destroy at least marginally popular governments. ALWAYS hugely, horrendously destructive to all involved including ourselves. But gee, lookit all the profits made!
...and their you have it.
~John L.

Fri Nov 20, 05:37:00 PM 2009
John L.Opperman said...

By the way, I'm retired military, teacher, mechanic, artist, veteran of Korea, Vietnam, and on site in Gulf War I, have traveled more than half the world, and lived/worked in the Middle East for a dozen years. That makes me a non-expert, but with more practical experience than The TV and MSM 'Experts."
Bet you a beer.
~John L.

Fri Nov 20, 05:46:00 PM 2009
John L.Opperman said...

By the way, I'm retired military, teacher, mechanic, artist, veteran of Korea, Vietnam, and on site in Gulf War I, have traveled more than half the world, and lived/worked in the Middle East for a dozen years. That makes me a non-expert, but with more practical experience than The TV and MSM 'Experts."
Bet you a beer.
~John L.

Fri Nov 20, 05:46:00 PM 2009

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