We have now been in Afghanistan for ever and ever, it seems like. If it feels that way, there is at least one good reason: it has been the
longest war. Ever. (
ht)
Don't hold your breath for
hope and change, and for all our troops to return soon. You can count on warmongers to offer arguments that will be variations of
this:
If the United States and NATO don't
finish the job now, they will leave it to another generation. Many of those fighting in Afghanistan now
were 5 and 6 years old at the start of the war; we do not want the same future
for the current generation of 5- and 6-year-olds. Leaving an adequate assistance and support
force in Afghanistan through 2013 and beyond is in the U.S. and NATO's security
interest. Certainly, the U.S. and NATO
cannot afford to conduct operations as they have for the past decade. But equally certain, the U.S. and NATO cannot
allow war weariness and economic conditions to obscure the realities and
requirements they face.
As if to prove that we never learn from history, France goes on the offensive in Mali. But, did the Mali situation develop on its own, or was it triggered by
other events?
Former Secretary-General of the
United Nations Kofi Annan has said that
Mali is “collateral damage” of the conflict in Libya:
Mali became, if I may put it this way, collateral damage of
Libya. Quite a lot of the soldiers, Malian soldiers working and
fighting for Gaddafi went back home with their heavy weapons and
their training. There was already a revolution and rebellion in the
north by the Tuareg group and of course Ansar Dine, the Islamist
group, also joined in. When these people returned with their heavy
weapons some of the Malian troops of the same tribe also teamed up
with them.
The situation in Mali is only the latest lesson in unintended
consequences of military interventions. NATO intervened in Libya to
unseat Gaddafi, which contributed to Mali’s instability. The
worsening situation in the northern Mali prompted France (with
support from
other nations) to intervene, which in turn has motivated
terrorists to take
hostages at an Algerian gas field.
Oh! What a tangled web!
1 comment:
Oh What a tangled web indeed.
Methinks, Mr Normal, Monsieur Hollande, was tempted to show that he has testosterone too !!
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