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Treating Af/Pak as one theater doesn't make much more sense. We are extremely constrained in what we can achieve in Pakistan and I'm of the opinion that what we're doing now (Predator strikes, mainly) is making things worse. It's not worth going after Al Qaeda in Pakistan if it further destabilizes Pakistan and the controls over its nuclear weapons.
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ASHER FOR CEO!!
GUYNEMER FOR OT MOD!!! -
How are our predator strikes destabilizing Pakistan? That seems like making a mountain out of a molehill, especially in comparison to the impact that our pressure inside Afghanistan is having in Pakistan.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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How are our predator strikes destabilizing Pakistan?
You don't think that every time an American drone launched from a base inside Pakistan accidentally kills a civilian it helps radicalize the population in the Pakistani NWFP and strengthens the Taliban and other Pashtun groups who oppose the Pakistani government?
edit: David Kilcullen is with me...
KH FOR OWNER!
ASHER FOR CEO!!
GUYNEMER FOR OT MOD!!!Comment
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That's a complicated compound question. At a minimum, I don't know that the Pakistani government is seriously threatened by these Pashtun groups. But I'll think about it more.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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I agree. Too much breadth of scope. Let Pakistan deal with Pakistan.Originally posted by Drake Tungsten View PostLife is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
"Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ BraindeadComment
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Let Pakistan deal with Pakistan.
Pakistan can't deal with Pakistan. We wouldn't be in such a fix if they could.
so why did we invade again?
They were in Afghanistan before, dip****.KH FOR OWNER!
ASHER FOR CEO!!
GUYNEMER FOR OT MOD!!!Comment
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we invaded Afghanistan so they'd hide in Pakistan?Originally posted by Drake Tungsten View PostComment
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Jesus, you are a moron...KH FOR OWNER!
ASHER FOR CEO!!
GUYNEMER FOR OT MOD!!!Comment
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killing or capturing the people responsible for 9/11 would be nice...
to which you said
They're not in Afghanistan.
I didn't say they were, so whats yer point?Comment
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the war is being lost. I don't see any way we can win it.It's a concern that at home, the common perception is this war is being lostComment
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Hekmatyar?Originally posted by Kitschum View Post
This is a better way to put my earlier thought about how the Taliban tell their own myth. DanS is right, of course, about their actual non-role in the anti-Soviet war.
Worth noting here is that the people of the NWFP of Pakistan and their tribal brethren in Afghanistan (70 - 90% of that country) regard the Paki - Afghan border as a temporary intrusion on their unity. As DanS alluded, these people have been fighting foreign invaders and each other from the time of Alexander the Great until today. Therefore, the people we "make angy" with drone strikes were already angrier than any pacification program can ever control.
Protecting the Paki nukes is a lot more important than anything in those hostile hills.
Separately, if we wish to control/eradicate the poppy crop, then just buy it from the Afghans. A lot cheaper than the current war costs.
No matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
"I played it [Civilization] for three months and then realised I hadn't done any work. In the end, I had to delete all the saved files and smash the CD." Iain Banks, authorComment
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Considering your response was to Drake saying there is no point to us still being in Afghanistan... whats yer point?Originally posted by Berzerker View Post“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- John 13:34-35 (NRSV)Comment
so why did we invade again?
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