So. Obama will soon reveal his plan for the war in Afghanistan. It seems like a good time to remember Mauldin’s comment.
Unfortunately, Afghanistan is not Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a horror. Americans sometimes remember that we lost upwards of 50,000 American lives there, and more than that to suicide and drugs once the soldiers came home. Estimates of Vietnamese deaths are upwards of a million, though less often mentioned here. People who lived through the era remember the insanity of all this going on in a place that America had nothing to do with. And when it was over? Nothing happened. America licked the wounds of its national pride. The economy went catty-wampus with war debt. Vietnam went its way, slowly rebuilt and is now a capitalist economy run by a Communist Party. In short, a giant, “So what?” on the world stage.
Afghanistan is another matter. A Taliban / Al Qaeda victory will have real consequences. In my view, the Taliban represent much of the worst the human race has to offer. These are people who throw acid in a girl’s face if she dares to go to school. I cheered when the Taliban fell. And then watched in horror as the great A.D.D. President dropped the ball on rebuilding the country.
Of course, this is nothing new for American policy in the region. Here is what Mauldin had to say about the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
While they were there, we were glad to fund and train and arm the likes of – yup, you guessed it – Osama Bin Laden. And once the Soviets were out, “Oh, Afghanistan? Where’s that?”
So I am afraid I am not one of those who thinks the answer is “U.S. Out Now!”
But I’m afraid I’m not optimistic, either.
Sources:
Bill Mauldin, I’ve Decided I Want My Seat Back
Bill Mauldin, Let’s Declare Ourselves Winners
Tags: Afghanistan, Mauldin, Obama, Vietnam
Yes, these are some bad people. Afghanistan, supposedly known throughout history as the ‘graveyard of nations’ is occupied by a people fighting for just threads of freedom and a holy war,, however unholy. They will never give up and they will make every invader pay long and dear. Perhaps they will simply exterminate themselves? Perhaps they will exterminate all? But don’t worry. Obama and his thugs will likely beat them to it, with both their planned and unplanned extermination of the world. There would never have been such a problem with the Taliban if it had not been ‘invented’
I come from several generations of Communists, and grew up knowing I must never reveal this at school. Some day, if NYU gets the archives sorted out, I may be able to look up my grandmother’s Party membership. I mourn the loss of America’s Socialist choirs. Yes, you read that right, America’s Socialist choirs.
The Left is always focused on the sins of Capitalism. It’s in its job description. It’s a tough job and somebody’s got to do it. We should only do it better.
But for generations, the Left has been in denial when it comes to one simple fact: that for all the blood on Capitalism’s hands, there are things that are worse than Western Capitalism.
In my parents’ day, the Left was in denial about Stalin. (I should say that I’ve heard echoes of this in recent years. I got into a discussion – argument? – with a guy in Union Square for whom Stalin was a hero, but for whom Al Gore had too much blood on his hands. I’m not making this up!)
In the Sixties, the Left was in denial about Pol Pot and the Cultural Revolution.
And since 9/11, the Left has been in denial about the Islamists.
So I’ll leave you with the words of the great I.F. Stone. “In the history of the world, nothing is more unholy than holy war.”
–have a bit of our own holy war going on right here at home. Holy, of course, being one of those ill-defined terms that leaves itself open to interpretation…
Norad Flight Exercise Planned for Washington, D.C.
North American Aerospace Defense Command will conduct exercise flights Dec. 10 in the skies over the National Capital Region (Washington, D.C.). The flights will take place beginning around midnight and continue into the early morning hours. In the event of inclement weather, the exercise will take place the following day. People can expect to hear and see NORAD fighter aircraft, Civil Air Patrol aircraft, and Coast Guard helicopters as they participate in these exercises.
The exercise has been carefully planned and will be closely controlled to ensure NORAD’s rapid response capability. NORAD has conducted exercise flights of this nature throughout the U.S. and Canada since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the command’s response to the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.