Two weeks ago I weighed in on our war in Afghanistan - “History shows why we should get out of Afghanistan” – This article, on the same subject, goes into more depth than I was able to within the confines of my word limit.
Scheer also points out facts showing al-Qaida is practically a non-presence in Afghanistan.
Every once in a while, a statistic just jumps out at you in a way that makes everything else you hear on a subject seem beside the point, if not downright absurd. That was my reaction to the recent statement of the president’s national security adviser, former Marine Gen. James Jones, concerning the size of the terrorist threat from Afghanistan:
“The al-Qaida presence is very diminished. The maximum estimate is less than 100 operating in the country, no bases, no ability to launch attacks on either us or our allies.”
Less than 100! And he is basing his conservative estimate on the best intelligence data available to our government. That means that al-Qaida, for all practical purposes, does not exist in Afghanistan—so why are we having a big debate about sending even more troops to fight an enemy that has relocated elsewhere? Because of the blind belief, in the minds of those like John McCain, determined to “win” in Afghanistan, that if we don’t escalate, al-Qaida will inevitably come back.
Read the rest here via Truthdig
Photo Credit: Flickr/The U.S. Army
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