The occupation of Afghanistan enters its ninth year

The occupation of Afghanistan enters its ninth year and the warlords return to get the man with the shawls the votes, while Obama hums and haws over how many men he will send to kill and be killed and the Congress says that it will accept any decision that he comes to. Of course, what we really have are two wars; the one being pursued by America and its allies and the protracted civil war that started decades ago. Moreover, with the warlords returning and the hype man upping the ante, the evidence would appear to suggest that neither war is going to stop in the foreseeable future. Not a chance and in the meantime "the Senate has passed a $626 billion military and war funding bill by a 93-to-7 vote." The war will continue.

Still, let's focus and let's stop being seduced by the drivel. Today, I have been listening to a David Swanson from 'Afterdowningstreet.org' and I caught something that sounded familiar when he said, "This is not making us safer. The American public has come to this realization, that the 9/11 planning was done in hotels in Germany and Spain and our own flight training schools. This is not about making us safer. In fact, it’s making us less safe. It’s enraging people against us, and it’ s damaging the rule of law, which is a fact that gets left out of much of this, that this is illegal." Now wasn't Gulbuddin Hekmatyar saying the same thing when he said that "the September 11 attacks were planned in Europe and the US and not in Afghanistan or Iraq."

So, where do we go from here? Do we get out of the country and let the Karzais, Hekmatyars, Dostans and Mullah Omars fight over its remains? Not a pleasant scenario for the Afghani people. Nevertheless, we should at least be aware of why young working class boys are dying in a war that cannot be won. And please, please, Mr "hype" man, save us the drivel and I was just thinking of that $626 billion, a health care bill .... perhaps, even a government programme to get people back to work. Of course, in the land of the free they won't be wanting government programmes interfering with that freedom; the freedom to lie and die on Afghanistan's plains, dying fighting for "Big Oil's" freedom to maximise profits and build that pipeline through Afghanistan. Please, no more illusions!