USA continues to plead for Canada's help. Please. Anything.

[Asher]

The Pashtuns are the homos.

[Wezil]

Pedo/homos from the accounts I've heard.

[Asher]

MarkG would be impressed.

[Dinner]

Homosexuality is deeply rooted (pun intended) in Muslim culture. They're classic self hating fags.

[Drake Tungsten]

The fact is that Karzai is 10 years in office, with massive international support and still unable to field an army strong enough to handle the insurgents (his own citizens - not foreign soldiers).

That's because his country is dirt-****ing-poor and riven by ethnic, tribal and factional divisions, you twit. How about you actually learn a thing or two about Afghanistan before you start spouting off on the subject?

[Wezil]

Just can't help yourself can you? Despite the inevitable name calling I do actually see you've finally put forward an argument, so...

You have argued Karzai has won two national elections and has been chosen by a loya jirga (his legitimacy in your eyes). Surely with that kind of consensus and the massive international aid in both dollars and manpower over the last 10 years they should be able to stand up to what can only be a troublesome minority? He rules with the will of the people but the same people would topple him if we were gone?

Do you not see the disconnect?

[Drake Tungsten]

Surely with that kind of consensus and the massive international aid in both dollars and manpower over the last 10 years they should be able to stand up to what can only be a troublesome minority?

Are you ****ing retarded? The geography of Afghanistan, lack of development/wealth and the structure of Afghan society itself make it extremely difficult for the central government to exert control over the local warlords and tribes, no matter how legitimate the central government might be. You obviously don't know the first ****ing thing about Afghanistan...

[Wezil]

You need to work on the debate style Drake. Jumping up and down and popping a blood vessel when someone disagrees with you only convinces them of one thing, and it isn't what you are after. I will debate with children Drake, but only if they don't act like children.

I am well aware of how fractured Afghanistan is, both in geography and tribalism. The tribalism is of course the bigger of the two problems and is the underlying issue in the insurgency. The Pashtun are used to running the place (after winning the power vacuum struggle when the Soviets left). After running the Taliban out of town, many of the old warlords are back (the same warlords many Afghans looked to the Taliban to free them from, strange as that is...) and the old conflict is renewed. This time with western intervention.

Karzai is having difficulty recruiting an effective fighting force from the ethnic groups other than Pashtun. The Pashtun either a) won't join, or b) can't be trusted.

[Drake Tungsten]

You need to work on the debate style Drake. Jumping up and down and popping a blood vessel when someone disagrees with you only convinces them of one thing, and it isn't what you are after.

I'm mildly exasperated by your insistence on arguing about a subject you clearly don't know anything about.

The Pashtun are used to running the place (after winning the power vacuum struggle when the Soviets left).

The Pashtun are running the place. Karzai is Pashtun. He was elected by a plurality Pashtun electorate. The Taliban don't speak for the Pashtun people, no matter what your startling ignorance has led you to believe.

[Wezil]

Sorry Drake, I don't come here to roll in the muck with the trolls.

[Drake Tungsten]

You obviously don't come here to speak intelligently on issues you know something about, either.

[RGBVideo]

A "legitimate government" is one with popular support. You can consider the Afghani government to be "legitimate" if you consider that the last election results represented the will of the Afghani people. Guerrilla forces against the government are an indication, but not a clear proof, of a non-legitimate government (that is, a government without popular support).

If the Karzai government has popular support, then it should survive the withdrawal of all foreign military forces (even the possible outbreak of civil war, preventing of which I believe is the current rationale for US troop presence in the area). But change of U.S. foreign policy would mean that Obama would have far less political capital in Congress for radical domestic policy changes during the next 2 years.

[Drake Tungsten]

Great, another ****** who doesn't know the difference between a weak central government and an illegitimate one.

[Wezil]

If it weren't for those pesky Irish insurgents all would be good.

[bc1871]

GOD BLESS AND DEFEND OUR FIGHTING MEN!