(noon – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)
Now that the Afghanistan conflict is closing in on eight years and President Obama has claimed the war for himself, as righteous, it may be time to exploit this comparison. At least for those of us that are against this travesty.
There are many aspects to compare and many differences. But the key similarties are;
-the killing, injuring and displacement of massive numbers of civilians, disproportionate to women and children.
-a long conflict that will prove to be based on lies, just as Iraq.
-a conflict as a result of the Military Industrial Complex.
-we can’t tell who the enemy is so we just kill em all.
Why are we still in Afghanistan, let alone creeping into Pakistan and other areas? Is all this really necessary for the safety of U.S. citizens from al Qaeda? This man and his family probably don’t think so:
Comparing that to the Vietnam War:
The U.S. economy is primarily based on the killing and displacement of civilians. The MIC is such a powerful force now, nearly fifty years after President Eisenhauers warning, that there is no way President Obama can or will change course.
The only chance these people have is us, not our politicians. Afghanistan will end like Vietnam did, probably worse. We will be there longer than we spent in Vietnam and the loss of civilian life will be even worse. The aftereffects, which are still very prevelant in Vietnam, will continue to haunt the Afghan and Iraqi people for decades. It’s time to call this for what it is, a MIC inspired holocaust against innocent civilians.
Crossposted at Daily Kos
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Somebody has to keep speaking for these poor people.
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not be antiwar? Doesn’t make sense to me. I know it sure shouldn’t make sense as a liberal. Maybe there’s a definition of progressive I don’t know about.
Operation Phoenix in Vietnam was a CIA program of targeted assassinations designed to destroy the infrastructure of the Vietcong. It failed to defeat the insurgency because support for the Vietcong was broad and deep.
The new top US general in Afghanistan is going to greatly expand targeted assassinations in the current war in order to destroy the infrastructure of the anti-government Afghan forces. This will fail for the same reasons it failed in Vietnam. Moreover, unlike the Vietcong, the Afghan rebels have no cohesive organization, but are a conglomeration of anti-foreigner fighters.
Of course, the US Military Industrial Complex has not the least interest in “victory” over the insurgents in Afghanistan. It needs an endless war to maintain steady levels of high funding for weapons. Obama has given them their war.