Surprisingly, this story is appearing in the New York Times. If accurate, it raises serious questions of why we have any remaining troops in Afghanistan. It alleges that Afghan commanders who are fighting on our side are maintaining stables of "dancing boys", used for their sexual pleasure. Worse yet, whistle blower troops who speak out or take action are being disciplined by what has become Obama's military.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/world/asia/us-soldiers-told-to-ignore-afghan-allies-abuse-of-boys.html?_r=1
I supported our invasion after 9-11 because the Taliban was sheltering Usama Bin Laden and al Qaida. Our efforts to drive them out, destroy al Qaida and eventually kill Bin Laden were entirely justified.
That said, I have long come to the conclusion that nation building in that country is a fool's errand. We have already suffered through the "green-on-blue killings" of our troops by supposedly allied Afghan soldiers. And if this is an example of what we are supposed to be allied with, then it's time to come home, let the Afghans become what they will, and if the result is not to our liking, keep some well placed drones pointed at the terrorists.
If that sounds like a Donald Trump solution, what is yours?
Yes, George W. Bush's commitment to spreading freedom everywhere has been an abject failure. Unfortunately, the standard Republican line is that every soldier or battalion President Obama withdraws is "weakening our national security" and "abandoning our allies." Our first six months went well because the Northern Alliance did the heavy lifting on the ground, while the U.S. provided ammunition and tactical air support. That done, we should have simply pulled out, left it up the Afghans to put their own house in order, or disorder. Yeah, I like the idea that should any more of our planes be hijacked, we'll have a few drones on hand to reply.
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