Of course we all know that things are not going well in Iraq. But remember the other war? Remember Afghanistan -- the place where Osama bin Laden was once hiding, probably with help from the Taliban?
Well, things aren't going too well there these days, either.
According to George W. Bush himself, last month, June 2008, was the deadliest month for foreign troops in Afghanistan.
The Taliban are back. They've regrouped.
And the Afghan government has no sympathy for us. In fact, the Associated press reported yesterday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation into allegations that missiles from U.S. helicopters killed up to 27 Afghan civilians walking to a wedding ceremony on Sunday. You know, the stuff that the Bushies call "collateral damage".
Remember, it's been almost 7 years since we invaded Afghanistan post-9/11. We did well at first. But then we took our eye off the ball, let bin Laden escape, and diverted our attention to Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11.
So can anyone really be surprised at the mess we've left behind in both countries? Can anyone really be surprised that things are dragging on in both places with no progress in sight, just more and more dead U.S. troops, and more and more dead civilians?
These are not wars of strategy. They are wars of will. That's been proven time and time again, as Bush has replaced several generals who tried to place strategy above the Bush agenda.
Such is life in Bushland.
At least Afghanistan's poppy trade is doing well. According to Voice of America, "Afghanistan supplies virtually all of the world's illegal opium. Last year, the country's drug trade was a $4 billion business, half of which alone was produced in the south where the fighting against the Taliban insurgency is the fiercest." I guess it helps to numb the pain.
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