Afghanistan

Typical Afgan village. Note the paved roads, the sidewalks, the power poles, the TV antennas, the shopping centers, the schools with soccer fields and swimming pools: The parks, the movie theaters, the streets and garages full of late-model SUV's and energy-efficient mini's: All those supermarkets with shelves filled with food from around the world. A true "Shining city on the hill". This example of modern Afghanistan may even be the place where Osama Bin Laden has been hiding for almost a decade.

Our military wants to ramp up the low-level conflict in Afghanistan. Our government is going to let them. We are going to lose more lives and national treasure in an area more backwards and primitive than any place on earth.

The question is why.

The original idea was to go capture Osama Bin Laden, mastermind behind the 911 attacks. Osama was reported to be hiding in Afghanistan, and America was solidly behind then President George Bush in his intention to go get Osama, wherever he was, whatever it took.

Turns out that Bush's intention was more to eliminate Saddam Hussein in Iraq than to capture or kill Osama in Afghanistan. The search for Osama rapidly became a backwater event totally overshadowed by the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

We had our chance to nab Osama at Tora Bora. Instead, he was allowed to slip across the border. We knew when, we knew where, so the American military was pulled out of that particular area to facilitate his "escape" to Pakistan. That allowed Osama be be heralded as a never-ending threat to America.

We have seen searching for Osama for over eight years. Do you actually believe we do not know where he is? That we would not bomb wherever he is into dust if we really wanted to? Bush ordered the invasion and occupation of two nations in his supposed quest to defeat terrorism. What makes you believe that Bush would not have obliterated a small section of northwestern Pakistan if stopping Osama had been his true goal?

Iraq was a unnecessary war that was launched for two purposes: 1 - Eliminate Saddam's threat to Israel, and 2 - Avenge the Bush family name. As a result, America paid yet another horrendous bill in blood and treasure for Israel's continued security, while at the same time - as an aside - avenged the Bush family name.

Now the Iraqi debacle is winding down and the military is scanning the horizon for another place to play it's games. That place is Afghanistan, it's back-burner war. Are they going to go get Osama? Of course not. They are going to endlessly pursue a few hundred rag-rag malcontents armed with some AK-47's and a few RPG's, an enemy who is - in reality - not threatening America, but trying to repel invaders of their homeland. Americans, Russians... It's all the same to them.

To the military and the government I say: Go get Osama and leave. Fulfill your original intent and get out, or just get out. You have no other valid reason to be there.