Afghan protests continue

[Odysseus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17152705

It was a stupid mistake that should have never happened.

Bases in Afghanistan are on alert. People are taking to the streets.

How do you tell ignorant dirt farmers who have never seen a light switch or lived in anything but a mud hut that a powerful, and amazing country like America can make such a fundamentally stupid mistake?

Our own lazy ways of thinking created this mess. The problem is this story will last for generations among these people no matter what the truth of it is.

[alkemical]

I don't even know how to comment on this

[ant1999e]

We need to get out of afghanastan. They were much better off when the taliban was raping and killing their women.

[alkemical]

I don't think we CAN leave.

[mosca]

The people there - dirt poor, out of work, living in mud huts, and living the oh-so-fun lives of being a fundamentalist religious wacko - will chomp at the bit to protest anything. There's nothing better to do than to go out in the streets and tear some **** up.

This isn't the first, and will not be the last time it happens. You can't transform these people overnight, let alone in 10 years. How about we do a cost-benefit analysis and base our actions on that?

[Odysseus]

The people there - dirt poor, out of work, living in mud huts, and living the oh-so-fun lives of being a fundamentalist religious wacko - will chomp at the bit to protest anything. There's nothing better to do than to go out in the streets and tear some **** up.

This isn't the first, and will not be the last time it happens. You can't transform these people overnight, let alone in 10 years. How about we do a cost-benefit analysis and base our actions on that?

We would need to buy more vowels and zeroes.

[orinjkrush]

we should give up trying to build other nations and states.

we can't even rebuild Michigan.

[Odysseus]

we should give up trying to build other nations and states.

we can't even rebuild Michigan.

Our role needs to change. We cannot afford to be police like this anymore. We need to evolve and move forward.

[barryr]

I have been questioning why we still have troops there for over a year now. Nothing to accomplish there anymore other than waiting for more possible problems for ourselves. Where did the anti-war people in the U.S. suddenly disappear to after 2008?

[Requiem]

we should give up trying to build other nations and states.

we can't even rebuild Michigan.

lolol. post of the year. or ohio. both those places suck.

[Rohirrim]

we should give up trying to build other nations and states.

we can't even rebuild Michigan.

Bingo! Time to get the **** out. Of everywhere.

[Rohirrim]

I have been questioning why we still have troops there for over a year now. Nothing to accomplish there anymore other than waiting for more possible problems for ourselves. Where did the anti-war people in the U.S. suddenly disappear to after 2008?

They didn't go anywhere. The press stopped covering them.

[cutthemdown]

I agree we need to curb the war in Afghanistan. There was a reason Bush JR was like hmm lets send more troops to Iraq, he knew he might possibly pull off a surge there. Obamas surge has failed, because there is no way he can let military be cruel enough to win in Afghanistan. He got Bin Laden, i'd say Obama has the juice to pull out.

But........ we can't just bury our heads in the sand because you liberals think we can't afford to police the world. We can't afford not to. The implications of a world where we don't take the lead could be that we are weak. That we no longer are the number 1 super power.

You all know what i am leading to........No way America can let Syria do what it is doing. If they are going to help Gaddafi out how can this go with no action? The President should tell assad I don't care what UN says, what the Arab league says, soon big bombs will dropping on your ass.

Its expensive but in the long run we will be better off with these countries no longer being able to fund there little wars in Lebanon and Gaza etc etc. Russia and China are a joke, they are the friggin enemy.

[cutthemdown]

Bingo! Time to get the **** out. Of everywhere.

This is so shortsighted and a lot how people felt after ww1. Bascially its the reason we had to wait until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor to enter the war. The American people were just so against getting involved it took a big attack on our country to rile people up. Thats one reason some historians think FDR might have had a good idea the Japanese were about to attack. That he welcomed it as a way to get his country into a war he knew must be fought. I don't believe that, i think he only suspected that something was afoot. I doubt he really knew the where or when.

But we cant just get back into that thinking its not our business. Thats how world wars really get started. By the rest of the world always knowing America is their to drop the hammer it keep wars from getting big. I'd rather face terrorism then ww3, which is what will happen if you sit back and let regimes like Assad foment terror, kill his own people etc etc. They only grow into raging animals that can suck in neighboring countries.

Obama should lay the hammer to these clowns. He does that and he probably has my vote. He pussifies it, no way. I want more then just sicking Hilliary on him. Same thing happened in Srebencia and the world said we won't let that happen again.

Its BS and you all know it. The whole notion we can just pull out from everywhere, and that will be good for us, is a joke. It reeks of being naive.

[Odysseus]

I agree we need to curb the war in Afghanistan. There was a reason Bush JR was like hmm lets send more troops to Iraq, he knew he might possibly pull off a surge there. Obamas surge has failed, because there is no way he can let military be cruel enough to win in Afghanistan. He got Bin Laden, i'd say Obama has the juice to pull out.

But........ we can't just bury our heads in the sand because you liberals think we can't afford to police the world. We can't afford not to. The implications of a world where we don't take the lead could be that we are weak. That we no longer are the number 1 super power.

You all know what i am leading to........No way America can let Syria do what it is doing. If they are going to help Gaddafi out how can this go with no action? The President should tell assad I don't care what UN says, what the Arab league says, soon big bombs will dropping on your ass.

Its expensive but in the long run we will be better off with these countries no longer being able to fund there little wars in Lebanon and Gaza etc etc. Russia and China are a joke, they are the friggin enemy.

China isn't our enemy. We have to take a different look at them. We cannot afford a trade war with our banker. We have a global economy and anything we do comes with a price.

China, India, and Russia (Yes! Putin) want to manage the Internet. I wonder if they will take over the press as well? I am pretty sure the world is getting smaller and smaller.

[cutthemdown]

China isn't our enemy. We have to take a different look at them. We cannot afford a trade war with our banker. We have a global economy and anything we do comes with a price.

China, India, and Russia (Yes! Putin) want to manage the Internet. I wonder if they will take over the press as well? I am pretty sure the world is getting smaller and smaller.

They aren't the enemy in the the sense they want to attack us, but economically they are. They know the more money there people have the more of our products they will want. Our economy can't grow until they open up their markets. Some of the things Biden and Obama talked about with them are all true and need to be a focal point of our country. No matter who wins we need to keep pressuring China. If that means cutting them off to countries like Iran any way we can so be it. It shows them we still have pull, and if they want to be in the big economic circle of the EU, and the USA, they have rules to play by.

Russia, putin? hell yeah they are enemies. Don't kid yourself on that. Pakistan cozy with China, hopefully China evenutally sees that comes with a price. I don't trust Putin for one second. He fooled the hell out of Bush JR. IMO one of the things that shows Bush was probably a bit naive. I think Obama is also sometimes. We often get as Presidents these guys who rise up really fast out of nowhere and boom they are President. They go up against people like Putin who have so much more experience in covert ops, politics, the military, gamemanship and outright lying as a way of life. Hell i think they also get to DC and find a bunch of sharks there. I don't trust Putin for one second. He's just trying to do mafia style capitalism, mixed with a sham democracy where people vote but its often rigged. Recently putin threatened to cut off state funded charities unless certain actresses and actors performed in his campaign commercials. That would be like Obama telling Bill Cosby if you dont endorse me i will make sure your charities get raided by the FBI, lose exempt status, and can no longer take donations. Seriously he must have watched to much Godfather. Putin thinks he is the Godfather.

[Odysseus]

They aren't the enemy in the the sense they want to attack us, but economically they are. They know the more money there people have the more of our products they will want. Our economy can't grow until they open up their markets. Some of the things Biden and Obama talked about with them are all true and need to be a focal point of our country. No matter who wins we need to keep pressuring China. If that means cutting them off to countries like Iran any way we can so be it. It shows them we still have pull, and if they want to be in the big economic circle of the EU, and the USA, they have rules to play by.

Russia, putin? hell yeah they are enemies. Don't kid yourself on that. Pakistan cozy with China, hopefully China evenutally sees that comes with a price. I don't trust Putin for one second. He fooled the hell out of Bush JR. IMO one of the things that shows Bush was probably a bit naive. I think Obama is also sometimes. We often get as Presidents these guys who rise up really fast out of nowhere and boom they are President. They go up against people like Putin who have so much more experience in covert ops, politics, the military, gamemanship and outright lying as a way of life. Hell i think they also get to DC and find a bunch of sharks there. I don't trust Putin for one second. He's just trying to do mafia style capitalism, mixed with a sham democracy where people vote but its often rigged. Recently putin threatened to cut off state funded charities unless certain actresses and actors performed in his campaign commercials. That would be like Obama telling Bill Cosby if you dont endorse me i will make sure your charities get raided by the FBI, lose exempt status, and can no longer take donations. Seriously he must have watched to much Godfather. Putin thinks he is the Godfather.

I understand what you are saying. I am not confused. You don't have to trust any of the players but you do have to talk to them.

[pricejj]

I have been questioning why we still have troops there for over a year now. Nothing to accomplish there anymore other than waiting for more possible problems for ourselves. Where did the anti-war people in the U.S. suddenly disappear to after 2008?


Don't worry they'll be back if a Republican becomes president...what a joke.

END THE WARS.

[sirhcyennek81]

I was under the impression the korans were burned because detainees were passing coded messages to one another in them.


:Broncos:

[cutthemdown]

Cracks me up how we are apologizing for it while at the same time these people will shell a friggin mosque to make a point. They will throw acid on a girls face and the friggin country doesn't even hold a friggin protest, nothing. These people are so stupid they aren't worth saving. Syria, we can probably help them out like we did Libya. Not sure why Obama waiting, must be scared of Russia and China. Just drop some friggin bombs already. What unless this guy can use delta force he's not interested? Unless France willing to do the bombing lol. Thats what it was in Libya, that was so close to France they were finally willing to test out those unused mirage jets. I hear they are nice though.

Obama should just pounce right now, chastise Putin and China, call them weak and unfit to lead the free world, then bomb the living hell out of Syria and leave Gingrich and Romney sitting there saying holy ****. Now that I would vote for. Then pull out of Afghan and shut some oil pipelines down, save a whale or something and satisfy the base. :)

[Rohirrim]

I was listening to an in depth discussion on Syria the other day. It was a long interview with a woman who is a physicist in the U.S. and grew up in Homs. She said that the particular neighborhood that Assad is going after in Homs is filled with fundamentalists and radicals who took up arms against Assad and want a shooting war and revolution. She grew up in another neighborhood of Homs and said that they want political change through other means and are opposed to a bloody revolution that may result in fundamentalists taking over. She thinks they can change the government through other means. She said all the people she speaks with on a daily basis in Homs are totally opposed to the idea of foreign forces coming in and bombing Assad's forces which would just unleash unlimited chaos and death, as they saw it do in Iraq. It was also pointed out that we were able to intervene in Libya because the rebels had already seized major port cities and they could be easily resupplied from there. The rebel movement was also far more widespread in Libya. Not so in Syria.

But what the hell. Let's just bomb the **** out of them. For their own good. Ha!

My favorite foreign policy recommendation on this thread: If Obama doesn't bomb the **** out of Syria, he's a pussy and I won't vote for him. :rofl:

[Odysseus]

They didn't go anywhere. The press stopped covering them.

The press does not care about this place.

Right now the soldiers are being tasked to get fit or get out of the Army. They are going back to spit shined boots and old military discipline. You don't like it. Get out. Guys with tattoos, low physical fitness scores, and wrong jobs skills are getting tossed out.

You want a smaller peace time Army. It is on it's way.

[sirhcyennek81]

I was listening to an in depth discussion on Syria the other day. It was a long interview with a woman who is a physicist in the U.S. and grew up in Homs. She said that the particular neighborhood that Assad is going after in Homs is filled with fundamentalists and radicals who took up arms against Assad and want a shooting war and revolution. She grew up in another neighborhood of Homs and said that they want political change through other means and are opposed to a bloody revolution that may result in fundamentalists taking over. She thinks they can change the government through other means. She said all the people she speaks with on a daily basis in Homs are totally opposed to the idea of foreign forces coming in and bombing Assad's forces which would just unleash unlimited chaos and death, as they saw it do in Iraq. It was also pointed out that we were able to intervene in Libya because the rebels had already seized major port cities and they could be easily resupplied from there. The rebel movement was also far more widespread in Libya. Not so in Syria.

But what the hell. Let's just bomb the **** out of them. For their own good. Ha!

My favorite foreign policy recommendation on this thread: If Obama doesn't bomb the **** out of Syria, he's a p***Y and I won't vote for him. :rofl:


Assad is exactly like Mubarak. Why is it imperative to get rid of or support the overthrow of one and not the other?

:Broncos:

[sirhcyennek81]

The press does not care about this place.

Right now the soldiers are being tasked to get fit or get out of the Army. They are going back to spit shined boots and old military discipline. You don't like it. Get out. Guys with tattoos, low physical fitness scores, and wrong jobs skills are getting tossed out.

You want a smaller peace time Army. It is on it's way.


Which is about 90% of the Army and Marines.

:Broncos:

[Odysseus]

Which is about 90% of the Army and Marines.

:Broncos:

If they ban smoking, protein powder, Facebook, and chewing tobacco there won't be a single soldier willing to sign up. I cannot see that happening in the short term but in the long term? There is no telling.

[sirhcyennek81]

If they ban smoking, protein powder, Facebook, and chewing tobacco there won't be a single soldier willing to sign up. I cannot see that happening in the short term but in the long term? There is no telling.


Someone should question the wisdom of denying vice to a grouping of individuals whose job is to kill the enemy of their country. Just sayin.


:Broncos:

[Odysseus]

Someone should question the wisdom of denying vice to a grouping of individuals whose job is to kill the enemy of their country. Just sayin.



:Broncos:

War is supposed to be brutal, exact, and brief. This is why a more mechanized force is being implemented. The problem is they keep taking away basic skills from soldiers as well as basic rights. They are heading towards more of a clone Army every iteration of change the create. A kind of Stepford soldier that is willing to allow the enemy to shoot at them.

[alkemical]

Technology over instincts?

[Odysseus]

Technology over instincts?

Instincts would have attacked Iran by now.

[orinjkrush]

War is supposed to be brutal, exact, and brief. This is why a more mechanized force is being implemented. The problem is they keep taking away basic skills from soldiers as well as basic rights. They are heading towards more of a clone Army every iteration of change the create. A kind of Stepford soldier that is willing to allow the enemy to shoot at them.

man, agree with this. politicos have no concept of war. they think in terms of taxes...fiscal punishments for behaviors.

war is horror. messy. disgusting. brutal. and inconvenient. and not glorious.

that's why Congress is supposed to declare war. to make it hard to get into.

we need all congressmen to serve in the military before they do their stupid sh*t.

[kappys]

Assad is exactly like Mubarak. Why is it imperative to get rid of or support the overthrow of one and not the other?

:Broncos:

We didn't get rid of Mubarak, the Egyptian Army Generals turned their backs on him. Once it was obvious he wouldn't keep control we sided with the "people" of Egypt.

[Odysseus]

man, agree with this. politicos have no concept of war. they think in terms of taxes...fiscal punishments for behaviors.

war is horror. messy. disgusting. brutal. and inconvenient. and not glorious.

that's why Congress is supposed to declare war. to make it hard to get into.

we need all congressmen to serve in the military before they do their stupid sh*t.

Most Chinese leadership are engineers and educated men. Our leaders are lawyers. We talk while the execute.

It is literally impossible to have mostly military men as congressmen and overall a bad idea. I would hate to have a bunch of 11 bang bangs running congress. Most Americans do not know anything about military service. If we water down the military any more than what we have then who are they?

[Missouribronc]

Wait. Did someone just suggest that people with a tattoo should not be allowed in the military. Did I really read that right?

[Dukes]

Wait. Did someone just suggest that people with a tattoo should not be allowed in the military. Did I really read that right?

The Marine Corps has been denying reenlistment for Marines with visable tattoo's for years.

[Rohirrim]

Load up the planes.

Get the **** out.

[Dukes]

Load up the planes.

Get the **** out.

Yup, should take no longer than 72 hrs.

[orinjkrush]

Most Chinese leadership are engineers and educated men. Our leaders are lawyers. We talk while the execute.

It is literally impossible to have mostly military men as congressmen and overall a bad idea. I would hate to have a bunch of 11 bang bangs running congress. Most Americans do not know anything about military service. If we water down the military any more than what we have then who are they?

our founding fathers i guess are the exception. in a counter intuitive way, many, if not most, people who have been in war, do not want to perpetuate the experience on their sons.

look at Bush, Cheyney and Obamaha....using the military as a tool for whatever, just cause they can.

[alkemical]

our founding fathers i guess are the exception. in a counter intuitive way, many, if not most, people who have been in war, do not want to perpetuate the experience on their sons.

look at Bush, Cheyney and Obamaha....using the military as a tool for whatever, just cause they can.

How often is 'Military Action' used as a form of "repo work"?

[ant1999e]

We didn't get rid of Mubarak, the Egyptian Army Generals turned their backs on him. Once it was obvious he wouldn't keep control we sided with the "people" of Egypt.

What about Gaddafi?

[alkemical]

How does this impact the decision to stay in AFG?

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/09/15/Afghanistan-yields-rare-earth-elements/UPI-95171316090675/

[mhgaffney]

Burning the Koran will produce this sort of a thing.

Imagine if Muslims pissed on King James -- in full view of the born again crowd.

It would be pandemonium...

Nuff said.

[kappys]

What about Gaddafi?

Completely different. Gaddahi had oil.

[Odysseus]

Afghanistan has minerals. Wait. China bought all the minerals. That means.... Wait. Why are we here again? Who sent us? Are we safe yet?

10 years ago no youth in Afghanistan spoke English. I wonder what these youth will do when we are gone?

[Dukes]

Afghanistan has minerals. Wait. China bought all the minerals. That means.... Wait. Why are we here again? Who sent us? Are we safe yet?

10 years ago no youth in Afghanistan spoke English. I wonder what these youth will do when we are gone?

As much as our Government wants to insist, nothing will change. We can be there another 10 years and still nothing will change.

[kappys]

Afghanistan has minerals. Wait. China bought all the minerals. That means.... Wait. Why are we here again? Who sent us? Are we safe yet?

10 years ago no youth in Afghanistan spoke English. I wonder what these youth will do when we are gone?

My prediction - grow poppies

[Rohirrim]

Now it appears some GI went nutso and wiped out a couple of families in the night.
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/11/10639152-us-soldier-kills-16-afghan-civilians-officials-say

We've got to pack up and GTFO of there.

[elsid13]

If they ban smoking, protein powder, Facebook, and chewing tobacco there won't be a single soldier willing to sign up. I cannot see that happening in the short term but in the long term? There is no telling.

They aren't going to ban all those things, just like they didn't ban porn sold at exchanges a couple of years ago. They are going to encourage the troops not to smoke or chew tobacco, both for health reason and because those addiction give you smell in the field that could give you away.

The force level is going down and competition will be tough for some of the troops that we kept on to ensure that we had enough forces for Iraq.