Nir Rosen on WikiLeaks “I think undermining that war in any way possible is a good thing."

[kpete]

Nir Rosen on Afghanistan and WikiLeaks

“I think undermining that war in any way possible is a good thing.”

.................

What was your first reaction to the WikiLeaks dump and the way the media handled it?

I think it’s a big deal. For people who are familiar with the region or with the war, it’s true that there’s nothing significantly new in terms of the big picture. Anyone familiar with it knows that in general it’s not going well, that Pakistan is both an ally and an opponent, and that the Afghan government is corrupt. So the argument people are making—that there’s nothing new—is true on one level, but it also makes it all the more outrageous. The most shocking thing is that the people who say they knew all this weren’t more shocked before.

Is there anything new to shock us in these reports?

One thing this shows that the U.S. soldiers are reporting facts which are very different than what the administration is saying in speeches and public statements. Much less optimistic. Are they lying or just misrepresenting? That’s not shocking; I guess anyone who reads the papers expects the government to lie.

And, forgetting the stories about Pakistan, the stories about Karzai, and the government corruption, people wouldn’t know about this hundred-and-something cases of civilians being killed by Americans and their allies. That’s a big deal. It might not be a big deal to a soldier who is accustomed to killing. But we as a nation are committing murder.

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wow, more:
http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/q_a_nir_rosen_on_afghanistan_a.php

[Lost4words]

1. but, but, the profits are so good for Xe and halliburton, martin marietta, GE, KBR, Carlise,

munitions suppliers, M$M, Karsi and his brother, BFEE, CIA clandestine drug ops, et al, Profit $$$ Profit $$$ its better than GOD to the war profiters.

[gratuitous]

2. We're blowing up people over there so we don't have to blow them up here

And now, we pass seamlessly from "No, we're not doing that at all" to "Of course we're doing that; everybody knows it, except for you losers who are shocked." Another round of hippie punching will set everything right.

[mike_c]

3. absolutely agreed....

U.S. out of Iraq and Afghanistan NOW!

[truedelphi]

4. One tangible effect apparent already - the Netherlands is pulling out

The 2,000 service people who were serving in Afghanistan.

Word from on high is that it is related to information provided in Wikileaks documents.

Earlier this year, the Top Dog there was tossed out by voters on account of the public detesting their role in the war.