More Military Grade Bullsh*t About Afghanistan

Every once in a while I check taskandpurpose.com because it has colorful articles such as Drones Aren’t F*&king Magic, People.
However, today's article was even better - The Pentagon Is Really Ramping Up The High Quality Bullsh*t About Afghanistan.

The flaks in the Pentagon’s press office seem to be working overtime to convince you that everything is fine, remain calm over in the dumpster fire that is the War in Afghanistan.

Exhibit A comes from a Defense.gov story from a few days ago:
bull1.png
That lead sentence certainly took my fucking breath away.

And then just one day later, “reporter” Jim Garamone, who works for the Pentagon’s official DoD News, knocked out this even higher-quality bullshit from a forward operating base in Afghanistan.
bull2.png
The propaganda piece notes that “Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford told reporters traveling with him ‘that from a military dimension, I am enthusiastic about the prospects for 2018.'”

Oh boy, you’re right, Joe. If you look at the Afghan War purely from a military dimension, it really hasn’t been a miserable failure for over a decade.

I love it when veterans come out and call a spade a spade.
No, really. Your eyes aren't lying to you.

Speaking of lying eyes, when NPR reported on Trump's Afghan Surge, they included a little first-hand testimony.

Last time that Mattis was in Afghanistan in September, enemy rockets hit Kabul while he was there. And last night, he and those of us traveling with him stayed at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, and sure enough, another rocket was fired there.

In February the Department of Defense Inspector General released a report saying that “no significant progress” had been made in 2017.
However, it was hard to verify because the Department of Defense ordered the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) not to publish certain data. A few weeks ago they reversed that decision.

The basic thrust of the new data is that Afghan government control of the country is at its lowest reported level since December 2015, while insurgency control is at its highest.

So progress was indeed made. For the Taleban.
Nevertheless, the WashPost reported that Afghanistan is making a turn. Really.
The giveaway is that the author felt it necessary to include "Really" in the title.

Let's get back to that taskandpurpose article.

Speaking of Dunford, he testified last October alongside Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to the Senate Armed Services Committee, where they both argued that relaxed rules of engagement and an increase in airstrikes would help to do the trick.
I, for one, think we should definitely increase our bombing of North Vietna… I mean the Taliban.

We are finally reaching the end of the excuses for our failure in Afghanistan.
That's both good and bad.
It's good in that we'll finally stop doing the same thing over and over again in the hopes that it will yield different results.
It's bad in that the search for a scapegoat to blame begins.

Russia is supporting and even supplying arms to the Taliban, the head of US forces in Afghanistan has told the BBC.

In an exclusive interview, Gen John Nicholson said he'd seen "destabilising activity by the Russians."

He said Russian weapons were smuggled across the Tajik border to the Taliban, but could not say in what quantity. Russia has denied such US allegations in the past, citing a lack of evidence.

Looks like another Russiagate.

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

Steven D's picture

in our nation building efforts. It's why we can never leave.

up
0 users have voted.

"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

@Steven D

up
0 users have voted.

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

karl pearson's picture

One of these days, the $$ is going to run out--it always does for empires. The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates and unwinding all those $trillions of Quantitative Easing. In the meantime, the debt clock is ringing up money faster than my eyes can move. These conditions are coupled with a bull market that has now ended. In the meantime, I try to enjoy "the show" because there will be plenty of time for misery.

up
0 users have voted.
Meteor Man's picture

Or Iran? I haven't heard anything about how widespread weaponized drone technology has become. Can we stop a drone smuggled in and fired from Mexico at a nuclear power plant?

up
0 users have voted.

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

earthling1's picture

@Meteor Man
The Pentagon isn't that far from the Mexican border.
The question becomes; Should we?

up
0 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

The moderate, secular government in Afghanistan was being attacked by religious fanatical militants, during the period of December 1979 to February 1989, by the so-called Mujahideen. Working with Osama Bin Laden, the US stepped right up and supplied the predecessors to the Taliban with arms and money, especially Stinger MANPADS so that they could punish the country that had come to the aid of the government. That country was the Soviet Union.

Since we now, on a predictable regular basis, accuse other countries of doing just what we do, (projection) we are accusing Russia of aiding the Taliban. Wow, the nerve of this is way over the top.

The truth here is that there is no proof that Russia is doing this and Russia has had a consistent policy of opposing fanatical terrorism, since they are potential victims within their great, diverse country. Suppose Russia did aid the Taliban, this would be exactly symmetrical to what the US did to them during the Afghanistan war. The point here is that Russia would not do this because they are a state guided by ethics and principles.

As an example, when the war is over in Syria will Russia leave when asked? Yes, of course. Will the US leave Syrian soil when asked? The US has already given their answer and it's no.

This entire business of bashing Russia as the bad guy is again psychological projection. The behaviors that we falsely bash Russia for are the same behaviors that we do on a regular basis. It's almost amusing that we do it in a very sanctimonious condemnation, and yet fail to see that it is our behaviors that we condemn.

up
0 users have voted.

Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.