Afghanistan: "The Graveyard Of Empires"

Some things to think about in Afghanistan and the commanders are being switched:

• The U.S. has killed twice as many Afghan civilians as the Taliban this year and that number is sure to rise.
• The Taliban are the group we empowered, funded and armed during the 10-year Afghan war with the Soviet Union. The Afghans and the Russians surely remember that.

Chris Hedges writes:

"We are the best recruiting weapon the Taliban possesses. We have enabled it to rise from the ashes seven years ago to openly control over half the country and carry out daylight attacks in the capital Kabul. And the war we wage is being exported like a virus to Pakistan in the form of drones that bomb Pakistani villages and increased clashes between the inept Pakistani military and a restive internal insurgency."

What a dismal outlook. Good thing Bush ignored Afghanistan in favor of Iraq and funded Pakistani dictators with billions for all his years.

History repeatedly has taught that Afghanistan is the "Graveyard of Empires." The current state seems to be a particularly evil mess with a convoluted, nonlinear narrative. Americans don't like that. They like nuggets to judge instantly without nuance.

A reader writes:

"I can't help but wonder if the State Department doesn't consciously capitalize on this confusion: the stirred-up pot of Afghanistan is beyond the imaginations of most people to begin with. Add all the other tragic flaws behind this debacle, and nothing is lucid anymore. I believe this works to the advantage of 'our' war chiefs in arguing the case at home."

You start to think there is more covering up than coverage in this War. Would be nice to get some serious information on what the goal of all this war is.

Source: AlterNet