Thursday, May 21, 2009

Getting Real on Afghanistan


By Janet Weil

There's an old adage, “Show me what you spend your money on, and I will tell you your values."

President Obama’s request for a “speedy” congressional vote on $83 billion more in supplemental war funds to pay for more troops, more drone bombing, and more carnage in Afghanistan, has inadvertently shown his values in practice: war over diplomacy, and wishful thinking over clear-eyed realism.

It’s time to get real on the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan. Military engagement there since October 2001 has yielded neither the capture of Osama Bin Laden, the political defeat of the Taliban, nor the improvement of life for Afghans, especially Afghan women.

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