Why are we in Afghanistan? – David Wood – Politics Daily

As reported in Politics Daily, this journalist, David Wood, just returned from Afghanistan and he asks a pertinent question in light of General McChrystal’s alleged report to the President that was leaked yesterday by the Washington Post.  It is worth a slow read, it is not very long, but you need to digest every word and feel it in your bones.  The piece is here.

The most poignant part of the piece for me was this paragraph:

"On the front lines in Afghanistan, I met a lot of smart, hard-working and immensely likeable young Americans, like these paratroopers, who have it on faith that "higher” (authorities far above them) know what they are doing, and why. I hope that very soon, "higher” will be able to explain the "why” to them, and to us."

This line of thought actually kept me up last night.  Thousands of human beings have been killed and have killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last eight years.  Our government and our military is either very confused about the reasons for our actions or simply does not know the reasons we did this.

Dwight Eisenhower is turning over in his grave.  I said this many times before on this website.  Ike’s famous warnings in his military industrial complex speech have now come completely true in our time.  The war and energy industries wanted a war and they got one.  Actually, they got two. I am sick.

If you want to read Ike’s speech again, here it is. I have posted it so many times in the last year on this website, at least partially, that I won’t bore you with a posting again.  It is frightening read considering what is happening with our troops overseas.

We are presently waging two wars.  One of them the President has just come out and said was not necessary (Iraq) and the other one he cannot or will not publicly explain the mission (Afghanistan). We have now lost any chance we ever had of regaining control of our Republic.  We are engaged in two incredibly expensive wars, Americans and others are dying every day, and the President can neither explain the reasons for war nor can he dislodge our troops from combat.

God help us.  We are lost.

CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)