In response to Marvin Adelman’s Saturday letter to the editor, headlined “Keep it simple: Just go after the bad guys,” in which he wrote that the United States should form a “posse” with other countries to go after just the bad guys (al-Qaida) and not threaten governments:
I thought that is what we have been trying to do. I remember the United States forming a posse, or “coalition of the willing,” with our allies; we were going to “smoke out the bad guys” in Afghanistan. But before the posse arrived or could surround Osama bin Laden and his “gang,” they rode over the mountains and crossed the border into ol’ Pakistan.
Part of the U.S. contingency of this posse later got detoured to a river city on the edge of a desert about a half-day’s (airplane) ride west. A really mean bully lived there, who boasted of having nasty bombs.
Saddam Hussein’s bombs turned out to be “duds,” and a year or so ago, after battling his supporters for more than five years in Iraq, battles that resulted in thousands of U.S. casualties, it was decided that we could send some of our posse east to fight the bin Laden gang.
But guess what? Time waits for no man, not even George W. Bush. After more than seven years, the “bad guys” who escaped across the border are back in Afghanistan, with thousands of reinforcements and rearmed “to the teeth,” with high-tech weaponry.
Also, the non-U.S. part of our posse that shouldered a lot of the fighting and many of the casualties for the past seven years fighting the bin Laden gang in Afghanistan, all the while waiting for sufficient U.S. reinforcements, thinks the military campaign can no longer be won and wants to go home.
So it doesn’t appear that this “saga” will have the typical scripted Hollywood ending that we all enjoy.
So you continue to blame Bush - your letter sums it up - "all the while waiting for sufficient U.S. reinforcements," - well why can't some other country take the lead for once ? There have been many attacks by bin ladens's terrorists in other countries around the world, but the United States has to take the lead? Its time for some other countries to step up and shoulder some responsibilities.
Hey Jeffrey where did you get your perfectly scripted Hollywood story from?
Brownln4
The USA takes the lead, because she still wants to be the worlds policeman, whether she can still do it or not is another question. If its not a small island in the Western Indies, or far off countries, that hardly an American knows where it is, the US still wants to be deciding things.
I'm more worried about Al Gore than Al Qaeda. He is a much bigger threat to our way of life. Al Qaeda was destroyed in Iraq, like it or not.
Jeffrey
I like your analysis. Quoting Gen Jones our national security advisor there are not more then 100 Al Queda in Afghanistan. The reality is that Afghanistan is in the midst of a civil war thats been going on for 35 years now.
If we stay we would need 500,000 soldiers on the ground and that will not happen. Gen Barry McCaffry who is a great general last night on CNN said and I quote if you really want change there be prepared for 10 years and perhaps as much as 15000 american casualties.
I dont sincerely believe we are prepared for that kind of adventure. Thats why we have to find a way to get out period. If not then lets institute a draft and then see whether the American people will put up with what some of these wing nuts are calling for.
Easy way to get Bin Laden, draft GW Bush and Cheney, put them in an isolated part of Afghanistan surrounded by a lot of remote weaponry and announce to Bin Laden that they are drinking/etc... on Muslim soil.
Bin Laden should come out and waste his resources on non-value targets and both Bush and Cheney can finally give back to their country.
Not very funny there ynotjohn. Still can't get George Bush out of your mind. Too bad...
GW Bush/Cheney were willing to sacrifice thousands of 18-25 year olds for politics. I am willing to sacrifice 2 old guys.
Bin Laden was willing to sacrifice thousands of innocent civilian men, women and children in the name of religious extremism.
To the last posts. Dont you remember the 2nd WW when about 60 million people were killed, for what, religion, politics. Thats what all wars are about, but mostly religion. Religion is the curse of this planet.
LarryVegas:
We should have not invaded Iraq and instead put more troops in Afghanistan in 2003 if Bid Laden was the primary threat. The secondary threat having WMD and the means to deliver it to US military bases (with potential to deliver to US soil) was North Korea.
Iraq invasion will always be about oil and social conservative politics not about protecting innocent American citizen lives.
Larry & uddaboda, exactly right.
We MUST NOT relax our efforts to fight extremism.
Bin Laden is still out there, as are hundreds of thousands, likely millions of his "followers." It's an ideological fight for the very survival of humanity.
As to Uddeboda's point about WWII:
The German's occupied their Western Front and were bogged down on the Eastern Front against an enemy who overcame superior military resources with geography, partisans and numbers. This resulted in a blood bath killing civilians and atrocities while the Western front had civilians killed in resistance movement activities.
Does this sound familiar?
"But guess what? Time waits for no man, not even George W. Bush. After more than seven years, the "bad guys" who escaped across the border are back in Afghanistan, with thousands of reinforcements and rearmed "to the teeth," with high-tech weaponry."
They came back knowing Obama would do nothing and will allow American's to die so Obama can kowtow to his liberal party. Obama and the rest of the lunatics can't stomach what it takes to win a war; they'd rather further desecrate American from within than do what it takes to protect American's. History repeats itself all over again, Democrats wimping out and waiving the white flag.
"Also, the non-U.S. part of our posse that shouldered a lot of the fighting and many of the casualties for the past seven years fighting the bin Laden gang in Afghanistan, all the while waiting for sufficient U.S. reinforcements, thinks the military campaign can no longer be won and wants to go home."
The plot thickens, Bush is no longer in office and Obama has had ample time to do whatever it takes to become a true President, he has failed at this just as he has failed at whatever he has attempted all his life, unless it is given to him. We thought Wall Street pulled the biggest scam of all times, Obama wins this award, he scammed the world, he is being paid to screw of over and he is paid for life. This is American dream, become a legal con-artist and get paid by the taxpayers for life and there is nothing America can do, just show me the money.
I will bet my entire net worth that Osama Bin Laden is dead. Between Noveember 2001 and April 2002 OBL ceased to exist. The cheney/bush Fascist Criminal Enterprise had to keep OBL alive figuratively in order to continue a "Forever" war for their war profiteering cronies. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan is approaching $1,000,000,000,000 with no end in sight in Afghanistan.