U.S. mulls long-term Afghanistan presence (Gee, what a shock.)

[No Elephants]

U.S. mulls long-term Afghanistan presence

Published: Nov. 26, 2012 at 7:55 AM

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Some 10,000 U.S. troops could stay in Afghanistan after the scheduled 2014 drawdown, creating a long-term American presence in the country, U.S. officials say.

That number represents the midpoint of initial recommendations by the top Western commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. John Allen, and would require a bilateral agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

That agreement could be hard to reach. Karzai would be open to such a deal, Afghan officials say, but he would require that U.S. troops fall under the jurisdiction of Afghan courts. A similar requirement by Iraq was rejected by the United States, resulting in the pullout of all U.S. forces.

Even if such a deal could be reached, the exact number of troops that would stay is still unsettled. Allen's preliminary figures put the number of troops as low as 6,000 and as high as 15,000. Obama administration officials want the smallest possible force to satisfy both Americans and Afghans, and to put less stress on the military.

Outside analysts say as many as 30,000 could be needed to continue training Afghan troops and maintain political stability in the country.

Currently, some 66,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Afghanistan.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/11/26/US-mulls-long-term-Afghanistan-presence/UPI-62631353934539/#ixzz2DLGd9Y2a

We're training Afghani troops how to fight? For over ten years? The country where empires have gone to die from Genghis Khan through Leonid Brezhnev?

What a fucking farce.

[formercia]

1. There are Greek burial sites all over Afghanistan from the period of Alexander the Great

That's where his Army met their end. You might have noticed that many Afghans have light complexions, blue or green eyes, blond, auburn or red hair, thanks to the genes they left behind. A very handsome people they are.

--snip--
In 338 BC while Greek armies were in a fierce battle with Persia, the Greek king Philippe is killed and Alexander is crown the young king of Macedonia. To avenge his fathers death, Alexander prepares of invade Persia and with just 3 battles in the area of Kurdistan, Alexander succeeds in invading Persia. Within 4 years he captures Persia and finds the great king of Persia on the side of the road begging for mercy, but, Alexander overcomes with anger and kills the great Darius and vengeances his father’s death.
By 330 BC Alexander has the world’s richest crown with riches and wealth of Persian Empire, which would fuel his invasion of Afghanistan. In Afghanistan he faced his fiercest battles and grave loss to his army physically, mentally and financially. After 4 years of battle he passed through Afghanistan to Central Asia and with 100 thousand reinforcements from Greece and newly captured central Asian kingdoms returns to Afghanistan and captures Balkh, Qandahar, Heart, and Kabul and begins his invasion of India. In Afghanistan he falls in love with a local cheif's daughter named Rokhsana (Roxanne) and they get married before the invasion of India. In India Alexander is injured and is travels back, as he reaches Baluchistan he fall ill and dies at the young age of 32.
After Alexander’s death, Afghanistan is divided amongst 4 Greek governors with their capitals being Kabul and its suburbs, Heart and Sistaan, Qandahar and Baluchistan, and Bakhter (balkh area) and ruled for the next 55 years. By 250 BC the Governors of these 4 regions declared their independence and established and new Greek-Bakhter government independent of mainland Greece. Roxanne pregnant with Alexander's son moves back to Macedonia. After giving birth to the heir of Alexander's kingdom, both Roxanne and Alexander IV are killed by insurgents.

--snip--


http://www.afghanland.com/history/alexander.html

Hang around Afghanistan too long and the Insurgents will ruin your Day. Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it.

[No Elephants]

2. I've actually wondered about the blue eyes. It's amazing that a relatively few

people with a recessive gene could be altering the appearance of a people almost 2000 years later.

I know a Syrian family which is Christian, a very small minority in Syria, even though Syria was one of St. Paul's first conversion stops.

Very light skin, freckles and red hair pops up again and again. And the woman of that family whom I met has three kids, all with blue eyes. (True, her husband, who is part Sicilian and part Northern Italian, has light eyes, but 3 out of three kids breaks the odds, unless she, too, has the recessive gene for blue eyes.)

The last name of her family of origin is Gorab, which means "strangers." (Similar to Abu Ghraib.)

I asked her aunt if they knew how they got the name "strangers." They say the family story is that Crusaders were among their ancestors.

[Enthusiast]

4. Thanks for the historical perspective, formercia. nt

[formercia]

6. You're welcome

:hi:

[Enthusiast]

3. Fucking farce is right!

Especially since no nation-state attacked us on 9/11. Invading Afghanistan was about as wrong headed as Iraq. We need to rein American empire ambitions. If we leave it up to the neo-cons we will do it all over again in Iran.

[No Elephants]

8. Thank you. That's what I have said from day one, but even liberals will say bombing Afghanistan

was justified because they could have given up Osama, but chose not to.

Really? I love how ordinary people in the U.S. knew for a certainty that the government of Afghanistan could have put its hands on Osama if it chose to do so.

Apparently, their crystal balls and tea leaves speak Afghani, as well as Arabic and English. Cool beans.

Meanwhile, we heard soon after 911 that Osama had escapsed into Pakistan dressed as a woman, burka and all. (not sure I believe that one. For one thing, he was 6 feet tall. Still, it's what we heard and he was killed in Pakistan.) And there was barely a central government anyway.

The whole idea that bombing cities and farms is somehow morally justified if a government does something wrong is pretty crazy to begin with.

And remember, Bushco bragged about dropping peanut butter during the day? Sure, we'll bomb at night and kill your kids, but we'll drop peanut butter during the day so you'll love us anyway.

A Christian woman (a very good person, too) actually exclaimed to me about the peanut butter, "What a witness!" Although I like her very much, I replied along the lines of my prior paragraph.

Not to mention that I had heard Afghanis had no idea what peanut butter was anyway. Raining it down on them during the day only puzzled them. Or so I heard.

[formercia]

5. Browsing the site brought back memories

http://www.afghanland.com/pictures/pictures7.html



Abdul Haq know as the lion of Afghanistan was a mujahid commander in the 1980s, we was killed by taliban militia while he was trying to seek support for the anti taliban forces in the south.

I spent some time with him in Training. Had he survived, he would probably be where Karzai is now and we would not be in a War in Afghanistan.
He gave me a big Bear Hug when we said goodbye. Nice guy.
I suspect that it was the Pakistani ISI that had him assassinated because he was pro-Western and not an Islamist.

[Enthusiast]

7. I'm sure they aren't all bad.

I've read quite a lot about Afghanistan but mostly in novels. They don't really count. But they do give you a feel for the place. Really, I have to say, I don't like anything about it. They can keep it.