Another failed promise?

[Don]

Weren't we told that we would be getting out of Afghanistan?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...oops-to-stay-after-combat-mission-1722111605/

 

[poncho]

Weren't we told that we would be getting out of Afghanistan?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...oops-to-stay-after-combat-mission-1722111605/

Does this come as a surprise Don?

By now the Afghan government is as addicted to the money Washington gives them to be good little vassals as Americans are addicted to the heroin coming from the Afghan poppy fields.

Just think what would happen to all the global bank's drug money laundering profits if the Taliban destroyed those poppy fields.

Can't have that. Better to have millions addicted to heroin than to have the banks lose billions in profits.

It always boils down to the same three things Washington and it's multinational corporate partner's crave most. Money, power and control.

 

[Don]

Does this come as a surprise Don?

By now the Afghan government is as addicted to the money Washington gives them to be good little vassals as Americans are addicted to the heroin coming from the Afghan poppy fields.

Just think what would happen to all the global bank's drug money laundering profits if the Taliban destroyed those poppy fields.

Can't have that. Better to have millions addicted to heroin than to have the banks lose billions in profits.

It always boils down to the same three things Washington and it's multinational corporate partner's crave most. Money, power and control.

Here's where you're incorrect: "By now." It was never "by now." I learned from first-hand experience, they knew from the get-go.

Consider, poncho: If someone tells you they're going to buy you a glass of your favorite beverage, do you say no? If someone says they're giving you a riding mower because they believe you need a riding mower, do you say no?

Of course not.

It was never "by now." It was a soon as we got there. I learned when my Afghan counterpart told me he needed me to buy him radios for the upcoming election; I told him he should have asked me 30 days ago, because it took us at least 30 days to work the procurement process. The next day, I told him we were working on ordering the radios; he told me not to worry about it, they had already gotten them. Which immediately told me he had always had the resources; but my predecessors had apparently always told him "yes". I got into the habit of saying "no"; and when he proved that he really couldn't get things through his system, I'd work it from mine.

But I think I was one of the few that worked that way.

 

[poncho]

U.S. Inspector: Billions in failed programs wasted in Afghanistan

WASHNGTON — The top U.S. official for monitoring aid to Afghanistan painted a grim portrait of the country’s future Friday, saying it is riddled with corruption and graft.

With most Americans’ attention riveted on Iraq and Syria, John F. Sopko, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan, said the United States’ unprecedented $120 billion reconstruction investment there is at risk.

“The country remains under assault by insurgents and is short of domestic revenue, plagued by corruption, afflicted by criminal elements involved in opium and smuggling, and struggling to execute the basic functions of government,” Sopko said in a speech at Georgetown University.

President Barack Obama’s vow that only 9,800 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan by year’s end, Sopko said, has left many Americans unaware the the United States will spend up to $8 billion a year on reconstruction projects for years to come.

“If corruption is allowed to continue unabated, it will likely jeopardize every gain we’ve made so far in Afghanistan,” Sopko said.

The United States continues to pump billions of dollars into the South Asia country that its government can’t control.

“It appears we’ve created a government that the Afghans simply can’t afford,” Sopko said.

Read More At: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/12/239729_us-inspector-billions-in-failed.html?rh=1

Mean while our debt keeps climbing . . . http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Looks like Afghanistan isn't the only country with an un-affordable government.

 

[Zaac]

Weren't we told that we would be getting out of Afghanistan?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...oops-to-stay-after-combat-mission-1722111605/

Sounds like more politician campaign rhetoric meets reality. They all make campaign trail promises that they realize they can't completely keep once the reality of being in office and actually having to deal with situations sets in.

 

[Don]

Sounds like more politician campaign rhetoric meets reality. They all make campaign trail promises that they realize they can't completely keep once the reality of being in office and actually having to deal with situations sets in.

Yup. But in this case, people actually expected him to make it happen. Oh, well.

 

[poncho]

Yup. But in this case, people actually expected him to make it happen. Oh, well.

Too much money to be had by the crony class to just walk away from it.

 

[Zaac]

Yup. But in this case, people actually expected him to make it happen. Oh, well.

Scary, ain't it?

It's real easy to say what you'll do militarily until you start getting those daily briefings and intel from the folks on the ground about what is REALLY going on.

At best when it comes to our military, politicians need to have learned by now that they should only surmise about a best case scenario and stop making absolute promises about things to which they aren't fully apprised.

Vacuums demand to be back filled.

 

[poncho]

"Never before has a populist democracy attained international supremacy. But the pursuit of power is not a goal that commands popular passion, except in conditions of a sudden threat or challenge to the public’s sense of domestic well-being. The economic self-denial (that is, defense spending) and the human sacrifice (casualties, even among professional soldiers) required in the effort are uncongenial to democratic instincts. Democracy is inimical to imperial mobilization.” (p.35) The Grand Chessboard

“It is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges capable of dominating Eurasia and thus of also challenging America. The formulation of a comprehensive and integrated Eurasian geostrategy is therefore the purpose of this book.” (p. xiv) The Grand Chessboard

So far it looks as though both Bush and Obama have been following the "Grand Eurasian geostrategy" almost to the letter.

Maybe you guys should read the book and compare it to what has been happening around the world instead of listening to bought and paid for politicians scaring us with "sudden threats and challenges to our domestic well-being". It might also be helpful to remember that our constitution forbids our political "leaders" from engaging in "imperial mobilizations".