A taste of freedom in Kabul

[Cheyenne]

Reports are that men are cutting their beards, women are throwing off their heavy coverings, young girls are wearing lipstick and all are in the streets flying kites now that the Taliban is gone and banned activities are allowed again.

Their lives in Kabul may still be far from "okay", but they have to be better now than when under the Taliban control. And that brings a smile to my face this fine Fall morning.

p.s. I wonder if the media will be able to show us the celebration in the streets now, similar to the video we saw of Palestinians celebrating when the WTC towers were attacked?

 

[p_p_man]

Their lives in Kabul may still be far from "okay", but they have to be better now than when under the Taliban control.

Wanna bet?

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Yeah. I do.

 

[Tyrael]

Makes me wonder.....I mean our troops can't stay there forever. How long after we're gone will another tyrant step up to the plate?

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

It could happen. But we're not bombing the joint and walking out -- an interim coaltion government of tribal leaders is being formed (it will, despite the squabling).

Next stop, Yemen, Iraq...and Montana.

 

[EnchantedBeauty]

Wont be another tyrant...will still be Osama unless we get rid of the bastard

 

[crystalhunting]

Wont be another tyrant...will still be Osama unless we get rid of the bastard

Even if we get him....another will rise to take his place,and there are still plenty like him wandering around the world anyway.



CH

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

You know, I never understood the point of making that point. Yes, there are and will always be bad guys. Are you saying, "so why should we bother?" Are you taking a fatalistic attitude that tyrants cannot be expunged form the Earth completely, so why invade Afghanistan?

All this was said about fascism -- it will rise again after WWII. Boom! Marshal Plan! Europe is re-built. Perfectly? Fuck no. A hell of a lot better? Oh yes.

So there are bad guys. Take them out when you can, and make sure you clean up your toys when you're done.

 

[crystalhunting]

You know, I never understood the point of making that point. Yes, there are and will always be bad guys. Are you saying, "so why should we bother?" Are you taking a fatalistic attitude that tyrants cannot be expunged form the Earth completely, so why invade Afghanistan?

All this was said about fascism -- it will rise again after WWII. Boom! Marshal Plan! Europe is re-built. Perfectly? Fuck no. A hell of a lot better? Oh yes.

So there are bad guys. Take them out when you can, and make sure you clean up your toys when you're done.

Chill DCL.....

I didn't say we shouldn't try to get him,I just think that the current goal in that regards is the wrong way to do it.

The current goal isn't to catch him...it's to kill him,all that will produce is more marytrs..

I say we try him in a world court,then stick him in solitary confinement..and make sure a camera is in his cell,so when he commits suicide,,,we can show all his admirers how a coward leaves this world.

And don't give me the exscuse that it would be to exspensive...we locked up Nazi war criminals..5 in fact after WW2 all by themselves.


CH

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Who's not chilled?

Your points are still a little silly. How do we "capture" him without putting thousands of Ameican's in harm's way. ("Okay Eddie, let's look in this cave. Remember, no killing now. Don't want to make any martyrs...here we go, la-di-da...") Silly.

This whole idea about not "offending" people so their kids own't grow up to hate us is not realistic, and feels faintly tree-huggy.

There will always be tyrants looking to rise. But if we put a coalition governemnt in Afghanistan and help rebuild their infrastructure and introduce them to 21st century markets -- how is that bad solution?

Take out the ideological threats when we can, and shore up a free, democratic, internationally recognized state.

This IS a fight for the planet, for who gets to decide the direction civilization gets to take for the next century.

We really can't worry about making some putz comfortable in prison. If we capture him, we capture him, and off to jail he goes. The U.S. would welcome an international trial. What makes you think we wouldn't.

But capturing him is a stupid mision. Solve the problem. Destroy the network's ability to foment mass detruction and eliminate the government that harbors it. Ba-da-bing.

Osama dead, or caught -- either way it's gravy. The mission, though, is more important.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

(by the way, I KNOW you aren't wholly advocating that we catch Osama -- I'm not speaking only to you, but in a general sense.)

 

[miles]

I hope like hell we zip the SOB and not even worry about "bringing him to justice." The objective in war is to neutralize the enemy, not capture him to put him on trial. Screw the World Court - his ass belongs to us.

I disagree with the notion that if we make him a martyr, someone else will take his place. Granted, some of his followers may believe this is an idealogical struggle, but it's all about power. Blaming the US for everything is a very convenient way for these leaders to take the spotlight off themselves and distract their citizens from their own country's misery. The only people who truly believe this is a religious struggle remind me of the klansmen, neo-nazis, and skinheads in the US. They are close to the bottom of the economic and educational barrel, have no hope, and need to blame someone for their lot. It's perfect psychology. They may be willing to die for their erroneous beliefs, but their leaders certainly aren't. Start wasting the knuckleheads at the top and the rest will slither away, never to be seen again.
They don't want to die - they just want their followers to think they do.

 

[Renegade]

Bump

 

[Spinaroonie]

Just wait till the Northern Allience appoints their own dictator and becomes just another Taliban.

Then we'll go to war against them for "Human rights" or rather "Oil Drilling rights"

 

[WriterDom]

Just wait till the Northern Allience appoints their own dictator and becomes just another Taliban.

Then we'll go to war against them for "Human rights" or rather "Oil Drilling rights"

No, the Caspian pipeline is going through the Balkans. We already won the war over that a couple of years ago. The Taliban is getting their asses kicked for harboring terrorist.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Just wait till the Northern Allience appoints their own dictator and becomes just another Taliban. Then we'll go to war against them for "Human rights" or rather "Oil Drilling rights"

Please stop listening to the little men in black coats inside your brain.

(I'm going to scream now, so everyone stand back)

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS NOT A SECRET SOCIETY IN LEAGUE WITH THE ILLUMINATI BENT ON WORLD DOMINATION AND MIND CONTROL! AHHHHHHHHHHH!

-----------

"A little gray with your black and white world view, sir?"

 

[morninggirl5]

Please stop listening to the little men in black coats inside your brain.

(I'm going to scream now, so everyone stand back)

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS NOT A SECRET SOCIETY IN LEAGUE WITH THE ILLUMINATI BENT ON WORLD DOMINATION AND MIND CONTROL! AHHHHHHHHHHH!

-----------

"A little gray with your black and white world view, sir?"

xzwizard was here?

 

[Cheyenne]

Just wait till the Northern Allience appoints their own dictator and becomes just another Taliban.

As DCL said, "But we're not bombing the joint and walking out -- an interim coaltion government of tribal leaders is being formed (it will, despite the squabling)." I read the US as well as Russia and the countries surrounding Afghanistan will be involved. Steps are being taken to do as much as possible to ensure a new dictator doesn't take hold.

 

[Weevil]

First and foremost, is the appropriate adjective Tree Huggy or Tree Hugger-y or what?

Second I never got the whole "Let's not kill Osama, because then he'll be a martyr" idea. Isn't the whole problem that this is a struggle with people who are already fundamentally committed to fucking with the US either way. Somehow I don't see any AL Qaeda members saying "Man, they killed Osama, now I really hate those decadent, western heathens."

 

[Spinaroonie]

Please stop listening to the little men in black coats inside your brain.

(I'm going to scream now, so everyone stand back)

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS NOT A SECRET SOCIETY IN LEAGUE WITH THE ILLUMINATI BENT ON WORLD DOMINATION AND MIND CONTROL! AHHHHHHHHHHH!

-----------

"A little gray with your black and white world view, sir?"

Would you like to read my conspiracy theory? It's about oil and the president and terrorism!

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Throw in the fake moon landing, flouride mind control, and how Nostrodamus is alive and working in the National Archives as a brilliant but reclusive janitor who gave Bob Woodward a lot of information in the early 70s, and we'll talk.

 

[cymbidia]

Next stop, Yemen, Iraq...and Montana.

Can we put my neighbors, the northern Idaho bible-thumping nutcases with white sheets and stockpiles of weapons, on this list too? They're scary fuckers.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Consider them smart bombed. Ba-Boom.

 

[Cheyenne]

I love the daily reports of how life in Afhanistan is changing for the better in small ways, step by step, after the Taliban is gone. This morning I woke up to the radio report that people in Kabul (I think) were playing their boom boxes loud not because they LIKE their music loud, but JUST BECAUSE THEY COULD!!! What a great image of people celebrating life.

Anyone else wonder when there will be another recorded speech from Osama? Think he'll address the retreat of his "troops?"

 

[Guest]