Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kuros]

[caniff]

[Old Gil]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[quote="Adventurer"]

[Reggie]

If only Americans were 1% as brave in the face of bankers as the Taliban are facing the combined militaries of the USA, Canada, Britain, and elsewhere.

I bet the Taliban wouldn't let mushmouth Barney Frank tell them how it's going to be or let Goldman Sachs rob them without a fight.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[Arthur Dent]

Here's a man with an opinion.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/dont-head-for-the-exit/article1372353/

In the comments, some have difficulty with his reference to Pakistan becoming an Islamist state. Of course, Pakistan is nominally a democratic country - with strong Islamic influence - but the comments are justifiable in realpolitik terms. They (India and Pakistan) were founded on the division of the British Raj using the dividing factor of whether one was Hindu or Islamic.

Practically speaking, there is no question that it is extremely corrupt and that the state itself has a difficult time exerting its influence - especially in the Afghan border region as we have seen recently - with positive results. Power struggles between the military and the political and wealthy elite as well as those who would like to see a genuine Islamist State make holding power and wielding it a difficult task.

All of this brings with it the question of whether our (the West) removal of support - or interference as some would have it - for Afghanistan could negatively impact Pakistan's development.

That border area is the training area for extremists.

We enter murky and dangerous ground here as both India and Pakistan are nuclear capable.

Pakistan - corrupt or not - has to balance its independence and control over its own borders with pressure from other nations to prevent further attacks.

As I stated previously, there are no easy choices. Strengthening one country does not necessarily mean reinforcing its neighbor. Especially when it comes to states such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. It will definitely take a generation or more to have any long term influence in Afghanistan - which means a lot more money and very careful moves politically within and outside of that state.

Not sure we are capable of this.

Pretty sure we aren't.

Even if we could afford the money and the effort involved, we would not likely be able to support it at home politically.

Still, withdrawal may have it own costs. A choice is forced upon us.

[Reggie]

[rollo]

It was the Taliban who wanted Unocal to build a pipeline, and Unocal gave it a pass as did the russian oil companies before that. There has never been concrete plans for a pipeline.

We should not turn our backs on Afghanistan. Not just because of terrorism but we should build institutions and help the economy. Canada of course should withdraw if that is their publics decision. but the U.s. has a responsibilty to the people of Afghanistan and should remain is some capacity. I dont see a military victory in the future but some stability could be maintained. We need a clear mission and a clear withdrawal plan.

[Reggie]

Unocal flew the Taliban to Texas and gave them the five star treatment, put them in five star hotels, took the Taliban to their mansions, took them to the beach, and so on.

A couple of months later, a Unocal exective addressed Congress by saying, "The region's total oil reserves may well reach more than 60 billion barrels of oil. Some estimates are as high as 200 billion barrels .... From the outset, we have made it clear that construction of the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments, leaders, and our company."

In Congressional hearings, Unocal executives and US legislators complained about the political stability in Afghanistan and complained about how the Taliban treats women. But surely, they were already aware of the political problems and women's rights problems in Afghanistan before they partied with the Taliban in Texas. One can conclude that the meetings apparently didn't go very well, or to Unocal's liking.

The reason that a pipeline isn't being constructed is because we're unable to protect it. Look at our base and our weapons now owned by the Taliban in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uj6sRlzgik . If we can't keep them from leisurely walking around on our own base and getting large arsenals of our own weapons to kill Americans with, how can we guard hundreds of miles of pipeline?

[Adventurer]

I think that the United States should work very hard and, so should NATO, at training a large Afghan fighting force and there has to be projects in certain areas to earn the good will of Afghans. Too many Afghans just see the guns Western states brought with them and not much more. That makes them angry, obviously.

[Adventurer]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Old Gil]

There is absolutely no avoiding America's being in Afghanistan, there's not a single politician in the US who would not have gone in there after 9/11. The way things were handled may not have been all on the up and up but our presence there in 2009 was pretty much unavoidable.

[Adventurer]