Afghanistan

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvfox 

Why are we borrowing 200 billion dollars a year from China to support the war in Afghanistan? Why doesn't the candidates talk about this  especially Obama? This is outrageous indeed.

Because Obama and Romney are essentially on the same side, re. this issue and other big ticket affairs. In any presidential campaign, the "differences" (usually personal, cultural, background, or social/religious issues) are always thrown into sharp relief while the overwhelmingly common ground is ignored by the media, giving the public the (misguided) impression that the republic has a working democracy, with a team in power and a working opposition. Ha! Yeah, right.

Anyway, there's nothing like big government spending - the war(s) have cost the US taxpaying public some >$3 Trillion and counting, much of it in corporate welfare to private business in the "defense/security" sector. Sitting presidents and presidential challengers (and the political parties they identify with) are disinclined to bite the hands that feed their campaigns, and those who influence them. Neither Obama or Romney dare rock that boat, especially in the presence of a whorish, complicit corporate media which is a foundational part of the same corporate network that benefits hugely from war.

The more we're indebted to China, the weaker we become economically, and therefore the need to borrow more. Is China complaining, what with all that compound interest accruing? 

Why are we continuing in Afghanistan anyway, when a recent intelligence review estimated that the number of "al Qaeda" operatives there was "not more than 50"? Three reasons - first, as stated above - war is profitable for the folks who really run things around here.... gotta keep that gravy train rolling along.

Second, natural resources - Afghanistan is once again the largest (by FAR) producer of opium, from which most of the world's heroin (etc) is manufactured - an annual turnover of hundreds of $Billions. (By 2001, the Taliban had virtually eradicated that nation's opium crop, and those annual $hundreds of Billions of easy cash was threatened -  quick solution - dispose of the Taliban by going to war based on a false premise). Afghanistan also has largely unexploited deposits of other minerals required by the industrialized world.

Third, Afghanistan lay between the Caspian oil/gas fields and the terminals - and if we stay, we control that flow, rather than allowing China to spoil things by routing the oil and gas through that country. Notice that the US military bases constructed in Afghanistan lie along the pipeline route? Iran is the other potential pipeline route from the Caspian to the Persian Gulf - but since the US hasn't had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, negotiations on this have been a nonstarter... and only a war, or otherwise deposing the Islamist regime in Iran could bring about *that* change. Oh wait.... that sounds kinda familiar? Iran just suddenly becomes the hyped danger to the region with its so-called nuclear weapons program - even thought they've had a nuclear program, on and off since the 1950s!! 

So, why are we in Afghanistan? They told us it was to "get bin Laden". ROFLMAO. How many nations (especially on the other side of the planet)  have been invaded, with a full military force of 10s of thousand of troops, marines, Navy and Air Force -  to "get one man"? Exactly. And why are the candidates not saying squat? GOD. Guns (ie war profiteering), Oil, and Drugs. And what is America's GOD? Money. Just follow that "yellow brick" road.

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As far as "al Qaeda" goes... its now abundantly clear that "they" are not our enemy, or ever were. Originally a CIA database of anti-Soviet Mujahideen fighters and warlords, the US intelligence community has been playing them like so many violins over the decades. First they're the good guys, then they're the bad guys, then they're the good guys again but stealthily of course - all according to what's politically expedient/convenient at the time. Soon they'll be all but a footnote in history, to be replaced by the next boogeyman du jour. In the last 2 years, the US and NATO have been fighting alongside al Qaeda operatives, successfully in Libya to depose Col. Gadhafi, with a similar thing going down in Syria as we speak.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzguru 

Well you guys were late to the party in WWII....