We're losing in Afghanistan too-country looks a lot like it did on Sept. 10, 2001.

[rodeodance]

a few weeks old but still pertinent.

We're losing in Afghanistan too

Contra Donald Rumsfeld's rosy assessment, the country looks a lot like it did on Sept. 10, 2001.
By John Kiriakou and Richard Klein
September 13, 2007



.......In reality, Afghanistan -- former Taliban stronghold, Al Qaeda haven and warlord-cum-heroin-smuggler finishing school -- feels more and more like Sept. 10, 2001, than a victory in the U.S. war on terrorism.

The country is, plain and simple, a mess. Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies have quietly regained territory, rendering wide swaths of the country off-limits to U.S. and Afghan forces, international aid workers and even journalists. Violent attacks against Western interests are routine. Even Kabul, which the White House has held up as a postcard for what is possible in Afghanistan, has become so dangerous that foreign embassies are in states of lockdown, diplomats do not leave their offices, and venturing beyond security perimeters requires daylight-only travel, armored vehicles, Kevlar and armed escorts.

Fear reigns among average Afghans in Kabul. Street crime, virtually unheard of in Afghan culture, has increased dramatically over the last three years as angry, unemployed and often radicalized young men settle scores with members of other tribes and clans, steal and rob to feed their families and vent their frustration with a government that appears powerless to help them. Taking a chance by eating in one of Kabul's handful of restaurants or going shopping in one of the few markets left is a new version of Russian roulette.

For U.S. officials and diplomats, Kabul is simply a prison. Embassies are completely closed to vehicular and even foot traffic. Indeed, at the American Embassy, the consular section issues visas only to Afghan government officials. If an average Afghan wants a visa to the U.S., he or she must travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, to apply. To allow Afghans to stand in line for visas at the embassy in Kabul would invite terrorist attacks or attract suicide bombers.

[GeminiProgressive]

1. Ironic

considering we aided these same people against the Soviets. What goes around comes around I guess..

[spindrifter]

2. It isn't just

Afghanistan. In several post-conflict areas conditions are similar--non-nationals have curfews, heavy-duty security restrictions, crime is on the rise as a result of rapid urbanization and lack of employment opportunities.

[Skittles]

3. got a link, rodeodance?

thanks

[BB1]

4. This week 80 extra Dutch troops

were added to the 'rebuilding'force that's already in place in the province of Uruzgan. That may not sounds like a lot, but if all of them died, every Dutch person would know about it. They're cannonfodder, 'cause the war in Afghanistan is lost, was lost since we all showed up.