[HCCN] Fwd: The solution in Afghanistan: Get out

[PPJ]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Global Network" <globalnet at mindspring.com>
> Date: February 20, 2011 8:55:17 AM EST
> To: "Peaceworks" <peaceworks at lists.riseup.net>
> Subject: The solution in Afghanistan: Get out
> Reply-To: "Global Network" <globalnet at mindspring.com>
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/17/ 
> AR2011021705822.html
>
>
> The solution in Afghanistan: Get out
> By James P. McGovern and Walter B. Jones
> Friday, February 18, 2011
>
>
> No one, it seems, wants to talk about the war in Afghanistan. This  
> week the House debated a budget bill that is touted as reflecting  
> new fiscal restraint, yet borrows tens of billions more for the  
> war. In an hour-longState of the Union address last month,  
> President Obama devoted less than one minute to the conflict. Given  
> the investment and sacrifices our country has made for nearly 10  
> years, the phones in our offices should be ringing off the hook  
> with calls from those who are tired of being told that the United  
> States doesn't have enough money to extend unemployment benefits or  
> invest in new jobs.
>
> But by and large, Americans are silent. The war wasn't even an  
> issue in the November elections, which dominated the political  
> discussion for much of last year. Perhaps it is because there is no  
> draft and only a small percentage of our population is at risk. Or  
> maybe it's because no one feels that they are paying for the war,  
> which is being charged to the American taxpayers' credit card.
>
> Whatever the reasons, there is no excuse for our collective  
> indifference. At 112 months, this is the longest war in our  
> history. More than 1,400 American service members have lost their  
> lives in Afghanistan; over 8,800 have been wounded in action. Tens  
> of thousands have suffered other disabilities or psychological  
> harm. The Pentagon reported in November that suicide rates are  
> soaring among veterans; the backlog at the Department of Veterans  
> Affairs had reached more than 700,000 disability cases, according  
> to NPR, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
>
> Meanwhile in Afghanistan, our so-called ally, President Hamid  
> Karzai, is corrupt. Transparency International recently ranked  
> Afghanistan as the world's third-most corrupt country, behind only  
> Somalia and Burma The Afghan military and police are not reliable  
> partners, and al-Qaeda is someplace else.
>
> Vice President Biden said in Afghanistan last month that "we are  
> not leaving if you don't want us to leave." At the NATO summit in  
> Lisbon, the president said that we're in Afghanistan for at least  
> four more years.
>
> But for what? Why do we need to sacrifice more American lives? Why  
> must we continue to align ourselves with a government that commits  
> fraud in elections? Instead, why aren't we using all our resources  
> to go after the terrorists that murdered so many of our civilians  
> on Sept. 11, 2001?
>
> The new Republican majority in the House came to power in large  
> part by promising to control spending and reduce the deficit. This  
> war has already cost us more than $450 billion; combined with the  
> war in Iraq, it is estimated to account for 23 percent of our  
> deficits since 2003. Where is the outcry from the Tea Partyers and  
> the deficit hawks? Fiscal conservatives should be howling that this  
> war is being financed with borrowed money. Those who support the  
> war should be willing to pay for it.
>
> And where is the liberal outrage? Those of us who are tired of  
> being told that we can't afford green jobs, unemployment or health  
> care should be screaming over our Treasury being used as an ATM  
> when it comes to supporting the Karzai government.
>
> To be fair, there are a handful of prominent critics on the left,  
> center and right. But most Americans are silent about the enormous  
> sacrifice our country has made in blood and treasure. They should  
> be calling, writing or otherwise speaking out.
>
> What are we giving up to maintain the status quo? Columbia  
> University professor Joseph Stiglitz told the House Veterans  
> Affairs Committee in September that the costs of Iraq and  
> Afghanistan, including interest payments on the money borrowed for  
> these wars and care for our wounded soldiers and veterans, is  
> likely to total $4 trillion to $6 trillion.
>
> Simply put, we believe the human and financial costs of the war are  
> unacceptable and unsustainable. It is bankrupting us. The United  
> States should devise an exit plan to extricate ourselves from  
> Afghanistan, not a plan to stay there four more years and "then  
> we'll see." This doesn't mean that we abandon the Afghan people -  
> rather, we should abandon this war strategy. It is a failure that  
> has not brought stability to Afghanistan and has not enhanced our  
> own security. As the retired career Army officer Andrew J. Bacevich  
> has written, to die for a mystique is the wrong policy.
>
> It is easier for politicians to "go along" rather than make waves.  
> But we were elected to do the right thing, not what is politically  
> expedient. The discussion of Afghanistan shouldn't be about  
> politics, which we acknowledge are difficult, but what is right for  
> our country. And the right thing is to end this war.
>
> James P. McGovern, a Democrat, represents Massachusetts's 3rd  
> Congressional District in the U.S. House. Walter B. Jones, a  
> Republican, represents North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District.
>
>
> Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
> PO Box 652
> Brunswick, ME 04011
> (207) 443-9502
> globalnet at mindspring.com
> www.space4peace.org
> http://space4peace.blogspot.com/  (blog)

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