Taming the barbarity of the Afghans is beyond the capability of our military & politicians. We are supporting one set of barbarians (Karzai & Co.) against another set of barbarians. It is a waste of lives & resources to continue nation building & policing this crap hole. Especially so given that al-Qaeda is in Pakistan, Yemen, & elsewhere; & our limited assets could be better used in other places, or just given a rest.
The fact that our soldiers are being shot at & blown apart is not a strategic reason to stay. Supporting a corrupt gov’t is not a reason to keep wasting money. Building a corrupt nation that will crumble the moment we leave is not a reason to keep building. Who believes Afghanistan will ever be anything more than our enemy, even in 100 years? Does it really matter?
Even if we killed the most radical & violent 50% of the population of Afghanistan, the other 50% would still be shooting at us.
I'd like to hear Rep. West tell us what the conditions in Afghanistan need to be to declare victory & bring our boys home. I'd also like to hear his estimate of when that will happen & what it will cost in US lives & money. I suspect most Americans would be shocked & dismayed by an honest answer;, & would say, like me, "It ain't worth it".
Being in Afghanistan, as messy and casualty-laden as it is with no absolute conquest in sight, has allowed some suppression of the formation of terrorist nests in that area. Maybe this is still not worth it, but it deserves to be debated with all facts at hand, with many key facts still being classified data. The most competent answer would be that there is no clear decision on the horizon until a saner administration takes the helm and has time to evaluate things.
That is one major difference I have with West. I think we need to get out of Afghanistan. What more can we do there other than lose soldiers and waste a lot of money we don’t have?