Winning hearts and minds I see

[MadHound]

"Afghanistan would support Pakistan in case of military conflict between Pakistan and the United States, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview to a private Pakistani TV channel broadcast on Saturday.

The remarks were in sharp contrast to recent tension between the two neighbors over cross-border raids, and Afghan accusations that Pakistan was involved in killing the chief Afghan peace envoy, former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, by a suicide bomber on September 20.

"God forbid, If ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan," he said in the interview to Geo television.

"If Pakistan is attacked and if the people of Pakistan needs Afghanistan's help, Afghanistan will be there with you."
<http://news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-back-pakistan-wars-u-karzai-023316217.html>

Not really surprising, considering the history of the war we have waged there. Hopefully this is a wake up call to the Obama administration telling them to stop opening up another front in the region and taking on Pakistan. After all, it would be rather hard for the US if we had to fight both Afghanistan and Pakistan as well.

Our best option is to bring the troops home immediately, but that's not going to happen. Instead, we're going to linger until 2014 and beyond.

The US is becoming an international pariah state.

[newfie11]

1. +1

[Quantess]

2. It's embarrassing.

[Kurmudgeon]

3. Pariah state? Oh please...especially when we're just leaving?

And before you bash Obama some more, remember, we wouldn't have been there if not for Bush-Cheney incompetence and "Wag the Dog" Republicans.

[MadHound]

4. When are we leaving?

I think that pariah state is apt, given our decades long imperial interference around the globe. Or do you think that killing innocents in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Colombia, Iraq, Afghanistan, on and on, is a good thing?

Psst, where did I say anything about Obama in my OP? Why are you defensively jumping to conclusions that simply aren't there? Or is telling the truth about this country's decades long actions now "Obama bashing":eyes:

[Kurmudgeon]

6. "When are we leaving", don't you pay attention? Do your own searching, it was on the news.

You didn't have to say anything directly. Mr. Obama is the Commander in Chief and makes the decisions there.
Or are you just trying to be clever....it isn't working, if so.

[MadHound]

9. I see us coming out of Iraq,

Meanwhile we are still embroiled in Afghanistan, Yemen, just had a quickie with Libya, and are now opening up in Uganda.

Again, when are we bringing the troops home, all of them? When does the President end these illegal, immoral wars?

[Angry Dragon]

5. However we leave behind a 1.5 mile square embassy compound

with 8000 private military force

[Kurmudgeon]

7. Much better than when Dubya had the whole country occupied, don't you think?

Certainly you didn't expect Mr. Obama to snap his fingers and all our people and assets there would disappear in a flash?
You don't un-occupy a country in a day. We've still got people in Germany and Japan.
If you don't like that about Iraq, what are you going to do, vote GOP?
That's what got us there in the first place.

[MadHound]

10. Ah yes, the choice of one tool of the MIC over the other tool of the MIC.

Hell of a choice. Meanwhile the blood of innocents continues to flow.

[Angry Dragon]

11. OH, I suppose

Do we need an embassy that covers 1.5 square miles??
Private armies??

"If you don't like that about Iraq, what are you going to do, vote GOP?"
I find this sentence disgusting

[Ikonoklast]

8. Karzai says stuff, and you don't think regional politics come into play here?

What is it you wanted him to tell Pakistan?

This is stupid beyond belief, OF COURSE Karzai would say that, he's not an idiot.

He has a porous border with Pakistan whose government and security service are giving aid and shelter to people that would kill Karzai in a heartbeat, he's not going to give them ammunition to use against him.

[MadHound]

12. This is not a matter of what Karzai said,

As much as it simply goes to show that we need to get the fuck out of the region NOW as opposed to 2014, 2017, or whatever the current target for troop removal is.

[Ikonoklast]

13. Meh. Karzai is practicing 'realpolitik'.

I would do the exact same thing if I was him, I mean, let's face it, calling it shaky ground he's standing on would be an understatement.