Re: Interesting thread…
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[quote=”Valdron”]Just a point or two.?[/quote]
See, this is why I tend to steer clear of politics. I’ve always thought Valdron was a really cool guy. And I still do. But now that I know what his politics are, I can’t see him in quite the same light as before. All that stuff can get in the way of a good time.
[quote=”Valdron”]We didn’t do the Afghan people any favours. Yes. The Taliban were bad. And yes, it was good to get rid of them. But after that, things get complicated.[/quote]
We didn’t intend to do the Afghan people any favors (or favours, if you’re British or something 🙂 ). We intended to kick the crap out of some terrorists. If we can help out Afghanistan in the process, that’s great, but it’s not priority one. A country’s policies will always put itself first. When it comes to foreign aid, the United States still continues to be one of the most generous countries in the world.
[quote=”Valdron”]They were so bad, that the people of Afghanistan turned to the Taliban as their saviours.
Guess what. These are the people we put back into power in Afghanistan.
That’s right. As impossible as it is, we actually found someone worse than the Taliban, and handed Afghanistan over to them.[/quote]
I think we can agree that both groups were horrible. I don’t know that Afghanistan has been “handed over” to such a group, though. I haven’t heard of any atrocities being committed there lately, and certainly not by its government. Surely the press would report such things? We’ve still got troops in there, and I haven’t heard them reporting any horror stories.
[quote=”Valdron”]It gets worse. The Taliban is not gone. Neither Mullah Omar nor Osama Bin Laden were ever captured.[/quote]
Sometimes I can’t find a fugitive in our small town. It doesn’t surprise me that neither of those guys has been located in an entire country. It would be nice if we could get ’em, but it’s not essential, and even if we did, the power vacuum would simply be filled by someone else. We can only try to route out as much of the organization as we can.
[quote=”Valdron”]Most of the Taliban command is intact, and there’s every indication that they still control or can attack substantial parts of the country. The United States has even begun to negotiate covertly with them.
The central government is such a joke that it used to be said that its authority extended no further than the city fo Kabul. Now, at best, its a few office buildings in Kabul.[/quote]
Do you live in Afghanistan? Do you have access to intelligence information? Where is this information coming from? I’m betting it comes from “they.”
[quote=”Valdron”]Meanwhile, thanks to the warlords, Heroin production, which was eventually banned by the Taliban, is back in full flower. Afghanistan is now, far and away, the worlds leading producer of heroin.[/quote]
Prohibition has never, ever, worked. Only regulation can put these people out of business.
[quote=”Valdron”]But apart from heroin production, the economy is practically defunct, the country suffers from drought and famine, and the only thing holding the country together are international aid organizations…. who are under increasing attack from the Taliban and the Warlords.[/quote]
So, basically the same as before, eh?
[quote=”Valdron”]For its part, America has largely forgotten about Afghanistan. In his budget to congress, Bush didn’t even include any reconstruction aid. This was corrected by congress.[/quote]
If you’re talking about the budget figures requested by congress, to my recollection, they were specifically requesting figures on the occupation of Iraq.
[quote=”Valdron”]Oddly, most of that aid never reaches Afghanistan, but is going into the pockets of American firms..[/quote]
I agree, there is a lot of loose money flowing around, and a lot of back-scratching in all levels of government, on all sides. Not just in regards to Afghanistan, but everything else too. I wish there was something we could do about it, but it’s nothing I can see a solution to in the short term.
[quote=”Valdron”]In military/security terms, the country is a mess, with both Warlords and the Taliban running at large.[/quote]
Hey, anybody that wants to send some troops in to help out, I’m sure you’re more than welcome. At least the US is trying to do something. If matters were left to the UN, nothing would ever be done about anything. It’s easy to armchair quarterback.
[quote=”Valdron”]On the subject of gay rights and gay marriage, I would agree with most of the posters here that Bush is fully out to lunch.[/quote]
Actually, right now (2:30 AM by my watch) he’s probably asleep. 🙂
[quote=”Valdron”]Frankly, people are entitled to hold whatever religious beliefs please them.
They are not entitled to impose those religious beliefs on others,[/quote]
I think President Bush would agree with all that. I don’t feel like he’s imposed any beliefs on me. I believe what I believe, no matter what he says. And just because he’s President, doesn’t mean he gives up his own religion. If Joe Lieberman became President, would he stop being Jewish?
[quote=”Valdron”]or to regulate or define how people should live their lives.[/quote]
Uh, that’s what people in government do. It’s their job.
[quote=”Valdron”]Mr. Bush’s interest in this matter strikes me as hugely questionable, given that there are so much more important things for him to deal with.[/quote]
Ah, come on. That sounds like drivers I give a ticket to, who ask me if there isn’t something more important I should be doing. There are always more important things to do. It doesn’t mean we should lose interest in the little things too.
[quote=”Valdron”]And what on God’s green Earth[/quote]
Which God? 🙂
[quote=”Valdron”]is a homosexual agenda, anyway?[/quote]
Well, THE homosexual agenda is simply to get everyone to accept homosexuality as normal behavior. I think gay activists would agree that this is their ultimate goal.