You Get My Point, Surely, President Scofflaw

American Scofflaw

I do not want to have one more of my tax dollars spent on a war for corporate profit. I do not want to see one more of our fine US soldiers get killed or maimed for life in the name of corporate profit.

The outcomesof the invasion and Afghanistan were to have been;

1. To install the pipelines to control Eurasian oil (a goal the US/NATO occupation is not anywhere near accomplishing).

2. To control the drug trade, from which so many profit so handsomely. And if you are screaming "no, this couldn't possibly be", and just about to throw your computer at the wall for such a suggestion, please, sit down, take a deep breath, and look at the facts.

Under the rule of the Taliban, the cultivation of opium poppies had nearly disappeared. After the invasion and occupation by US/NATO forces, opium production has soared.

As reported on 3 September, 2006, in

http://thetorontotimes.com/content/view/560/68/

"Helmand province has seen a 162 % increase in opium production over last year. This province has also seen significant attacks on British troops and NATO forces this past year. The narco-economy is threatening to turn the state into a Narco state with the complete collapse of the democratic reforms initiated by the western allies."

Any questions?

The people of Afghanistan pose absolutely no threat to US national security; they just happen to be cursed to live at a geographic spot that would be great for pipelines, and the ideal weather conditions for growing opium.

They simply want us out of their country, period, end of discussion.

Any new "surge" in Afghanistan will be met by an equal - or better "surge" of Taliban fighters, which will then cause the US military to ask for more troops which will....

You get my point.

Dear God, Why Did They Ever Join?

American Scofflaw

At least 128 American soldiers committed suicide last year, bringing the rate up to the highest level in nearly three decades. About a third killed themselves during deployment, a third after, and a third not having been deployed. The rate of military suicides is higher than civilian for the first time since Vietnam.

The endless wars abroad in Afghanistan and Iraq and the advent of 15-month deployments would seem to be the best explanation. Many servicemen and women face major life problems after coming back.

Some proponents of staying the course suggest that dissenting civilians here at home will lose the war, just as they allegedly lost Vietnam. Yet we are at peace now with Vietnam. Yes, horrors were unleashed when the U.S. withdrew, but much of that was exacerbated in its ferocity by U.S. intervention in the first place (such as with U.S. bombing in Cambodia warming the people up to the Khmer Rouge).

These interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq have lasted longer than World War II, at a tremendous cost with no end in sight. Some close to Obama suggest the new administration might see the Afghanistan engagement lasting as long as Vietnam. The objective is very unclear.

Some conservatives seem to see the futility in trying to nation build in Afghanistan, now that Obama wants to do it. Some liberals saw the futility in the Iraq war. But nothing can be gained by continuing the occupations of either one.

Many in the military want to come home. For three years, troops in Iraq have overwhelmingly supported withdrawing within a year. By a wide margin, Ron Paul, the one candidate clearly advocating as rapid a withdrawal as manageable, was the favorite Republican of the men and women of the Armed Forces, in terms of campaign donations. Obama, percieved as favoring a drawdown, also fared well in this regard.

Difficulty meeting recruitment goals have led to dubious practices, the use of stop-loss orders, the signing up of convicts and illegal aliens and worse. Morale is down and has been for years. Some politicos are even agitating for conscription, but the bipartisan consensus in any event is we need a bigger military.

The military does not need more troops. It has enough and too many are fighting and dying where they shouldn't be.

Americans and foreigners continue to die in these wars. The foreign dead and American wounded are hardly counted. Young Americans suffer unspeakable physical and psychological injuries. And it continues every day, so far with little indication from Obama that he will effect a real break from the pattern.

We must not let this issue fall off our radar. Some will quiet down now that there is a Democratic president, but America needs peace as it needs liberty more than ever