This is the beginning of endless wars.Iraq was a lie, like Vietnam,like Afghanistan.The Taliban had stopped the production of heroine in 2000,hence there was a heroine drought.Now we see picture of US soldiers walking amongst poppy plantations.The US could easily destroy 90% of the world's heroine that makes $93 billion pa.Afghanistan has $ trillions worth of lithium for the battery industry and is the economic route for oil/gas piplines from Turkmenistan.

Who are we kidding? Al Qaeda is just a ruse for stealing resources and energy and making fat profits from war.

Chris Lewis says:

"Deserting Afghanistan now would make it a haven for terrorists."

John J says:

"making an [unprovoked] invasion of their country, destroying its [functioning political and economic systems], [killing hundreds of thousands of the inhabitants]"

But (to my incredulity) Individual jumps in with:

//You have a clear mind with a sober view, something you can't have with a PhD.//

Where does one start to demythologise those rather bankrupt responses to Chris's astute realistic article?

Let's do it point by point. (assuming he means Afghanistan)

1/ "Unprovoked" ? Nope..sorry.. Taliban/Terrorist/Islamist training camps.... 9/11 Bali etc.

2/ "Destroying it's FUNCTIONING political/economic system. ?

a) Political: Yep.. it functioned well in murdering all those who it didn't like (Hazzara's/Norther Alliance supporters etc)
b) Economic: Yep they took over the Emerald mines in the Swat Valley and
"Opium is permissible because it is consumed by kafirs in the West, and not by Muslims or Afghans."

3/ Killing '100s of 1000s' of the inhabitants. ?

Errr....nope.. killing identifiable terrorists and incurring some collateral damage in the process some through inadequate intel and others because Taliban use human shields.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_casualties_of_the_War_in_Afghanistan_%282001%E2%80%93present%29#Civilian_casualties_.282001-2003.29

Direct deaths approx 14000
Indirect deaths approx 20,000 (high estimate)

Jon J and Individ... perhaps a tad more education is in order ? :)

AIR ,Robert Baer ex CIA http://patriotsquestion911.com/ page 48
Thom Hartman,"Are you of the opinion that there was an aspect of inside job to 911?"
Robert Baer,"There is that possibility,the evcidence points to it."
You will also see on this site hundreds of ex senior,intelligence Govt,military and law enforcers question the official explanation of 911.Robert Baer was recommended by Nick Caldis the Deputy Commissioner of Securty and counter terroeism of NSW.Baer was interviewed by 2GB in early Sept 2010.

Thomas Kean Chairman of the 911 Commission,Lee Hamilton Deputy Chair 911 Commission are there.

The hard evidence is there that we are in Afghanistan based on a lie.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail149520.html Noam Chomsky "US -led Afghan war, criminal" The FBI said in 2006 they did not have the evidence on Bin Laden for the 911 attacks." The head of the FBI,after the most intense internmational investigations ion history,imformed the press that the FBI believed that the plot may have been hatched in Afghanistan,but was probably implemented in the United Arab Emerates and Germany."

Chomsky," All this is totally illegal.It is more,criminal."

It strikes me as highly hypocritical albeit via ignorance, that many "experts" tell us what's right/wrong politically in the world. But, let's face it, how many decisions are made by those "experts" for which the rest of the world then has to find solutions via staging wars. You simply can not argue that forcing a policy or legislation upon a community and when it all goes lopsided and people have to take up arms to control the effects of these "experts' imposed policies we call them terrorists or an uprising. How many of us ever sit back & think of how many of these trouble spots we would not have if the "experts" hadn't created them. Why is ist that some people always believe they have the answers to the problems of others. They haven't ! How many more times do we need this evidence dished up ? How many policies dreamed up by ordinary people have ever been implemented ? So when an ordinary person turns around & points the finger at the "experts" than that person doesn't know what he/she is talking about. That my fellow concerned citizens is the crux of most of the mayhem in the times of every generation. What does it tell us ? Well. in my opinion if we had fewer "experts" we'd also have fewer problems. Stop consulting "experts" and ask people who know instead. People who have wisdom rather than knowledge.. Trouble is that wise people don't get a say because they're outnumbered by the educated.

Individual,

I am not sure what you are on about.

I merely offered an opinion piece. I agree with you. I do not think that anybody has a monopoly on the right or wrong answer, regardless of qualifications.

I have no problem with anyone attacking my argument. Some may agree, some may diasagree. That is life.

All i do is utilise my opportunity to write on OLO and offer my personal position in response to my interpretation of events.