Crazy Talk–“Calls For A More Rapid Withdrawal From Afghanistan”
From the NYT:
Pentagon officials said they were preparing for calls for a more rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan.
I.e., preparing to shout down calls for withdrawal. I`m sorry if this sounds old-fashioned, but I had somehow gotten the impression that the Pentagon`s job was to fight our country`s wars, not to choose them. Silly me.
Pentagon officials acknowledged that NATO nations, many of whom already are reluctant to remain in Afghanistan, also may argue that Bin Laden`s death allows them to withdraw more rapidly than planned.
“I hope people are going to feel, on a bipartisan basis, that when you move the ball this far it`s crazy to walk off the field,” one senior administration official said. Officials who favor retaining a large troop presence said that while this was a significant victory, the security gains in Afghanistan remained fragile.
The idea of not spending $114 billion dollars per year on war in strategically crucial Afghanistan is just crazy talk! The U.S. must dominate Afghanistan`s world-historical supplies of gravel.
It`s interesting that the Pentagon was unenthusiastic about starting the war in Libya, but went along with the State / White House war fever. It`s sort of a One War for You, One War for Me deal. We`ll fight your war if you let us keep fighting our war. Nobody, of course, seems interested in the inverse: we`ll stop our war and you stop your war.
