[Marxism] Sad article about Afghanistan, Powell, Rumsfeld, poverty and complete incompetence

[Brian Shannon <Brian_Shannon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The scattered information in this long detailed article is useful,  
because it reflects the complete confusion on the part of the U.S.  
government. It also expresses why there is a shift, even among  
Republicans, away from the Bush administration and its disastrous  
tactics for U.S. imperialism. While I don't believe that there is an  
overall split in the ruling class regarding the Middle East policy of  
invading and staying in Iraq and increasing its penetration in other  
countries, the cupidity, incompetence and failures of the Cheney/Bush  
team is highlighted here.

Brian Shannon
____________________________


AFGHAN SYMBOL FOR CHANGE BECOMES A SYMBOL OF FAILURE

By DAVID ROHDE
New York Times, September 5, 2006

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan — It began last summer.
. . .
Today, Little America is the epicenter of a Taliban resurgence and an  
explosion in drug cultivation that has claimed the lives of 106  
American and NATO soldiers this year and doubled American casualty  
rates countrywide. Across Afghanistan, roadside bomb attacks are up  
by 30 percent; suicide bombings have doubled. Statistically it is now  
nearly as dangerous to serve as an American soldier in Afghanistan as  
it is in Iraq.

Helmand’s descent symbolizes how Afghanistan has evolved since the  
initial victory over the Taliban into one of the most troubled fronts  
in the fight against terrorism.

The problems began in early 2002, former Bush administration, United  
Nations and Afghan officials said, when the United States and its  
allies failed to take advantage of a sweeping desire among Afghans  
for help from foreign countries.

The Defense Department initially opposed a request by Colin L.  
Powell, then secretary of state, and Afghanistan’s new leaders for a  
sizable peacekeeping force and deployed only 8,000 American troops,  
but purely in a combat role, officials said.

During the first 18 months after the invasion, the United States-led  
coalition deployed no peacekeepers outside Kabul, leaving the  
security of provinces like Helmand to local Afghans.

“Where the world, including the United States, came up short was on  
the security side,” said Richard Haass, the former director of policy  
planning at the State Department. “That was the mistake which I  
believe is coming back to haunt the United States now.”

The lack of security was just one element of a volatile mix. Twenty  
years of conflict had shattered government and social structures in  
Afghanistan, the world’s fifth poorest country, where the average  
life expectancy is 43.
. . .
FULL AT
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/world/asia/05afghan.html? 
hp&ex=1157515200&en=1e70e663189b6fb9&ei=5094&partner=homepage>
OR http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z20F123BD



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