"Afghanistan stands at a crossroads. The progress achieved after six years of international engagement is under serious threat from resurgent violence, weakening international resolve, mounting regional challenges and a growing lack of confidence on the part of the Afghan people about the future direction of their country."
Those are the words of the independent and non-partisan Center for the Study of the Presidency. The group tried to examine the Afghanistan situation in the same way the Iraq Study Group did for Iraq.
Frankly the group did not like what they saw. They believe Afghanistan is becoming the "forgotten war", and that the government there may not survive. They say that we are trying to win that war with "too few military forces and insufficient economic aid".
Lest we forget, It was the Taliban in Afghanistan that supported and protected the al-Queda terrorists that attacked America on 9/11. After that tragedy, Bush promised to apprehend Osama bin Laden and destroy the Taliban that supported him. He has done neither.
American troops made a very good start in Afghanistan, and it looked like Bush might actually keep his promise. But then he decided that Iraqi oil was more important than getting the terrorists that had attacked the United States. He pulled most of the troops out before the job had been finished, and started a totally unnecessary war in Iraq -- a war that quickly became a never-ending quagmire.
Because Bush failed to keep his promise and finish the job, the situation has gotten steadily worse in Afghanistan. The Taliban and their al-Queda allies are getting stronger every day. In fact, they now are even taking control of border areas in Pakistan and putting that country in danger of disintegrating into tribalism.
The situation in Afghanistan clearly needs more troops and money, but that will be very difficult to do. The failed and unnecessary invasion and occupation of Iraq has already stretched our military too thin and ballooned our national debt. We may now be in a position where we cannot win either war.
This is an amazing display of incompetence by the Bush administration. And by the way -- WHERE IS OSAMA? Shouldn't he be dead or in jail by now?
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