Is Donald Trump aiming for victory in Afghanistan - or permanent military occupation?
By Thom Hartmann A...
Is Donald Trump pushing us closer to victory in Afghanistan or permanent military occupation?
As Donald Trump prepares for a major escalation of the war - will we ever leave Afghanistan?
In a big nationally televised speech this week, Donald Trump called for an escalation of the War in Afghanistan - already America's longest war by far.
The new strategy - Trump said - won't be nation-building, but "fighting to win" and "killing terrorists".
"Our troops will fright to win. We will fright to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing Al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan and stopping mass terror attacks against America before they emerge."
To me, that sounds less like a strategy for victory than a justification for a permanent occupation. Occupations of Afghanistan never work. How could we possibly succeed where the Soviets and the British failed?
Was Trump playing us when he slammed the "stupid wars" during the campaign?
Or have the generals just hijacked him?
Comments
#2
Have been off of the grid for 2 weeks. How many times do you have to fail in overseas wars with by far the most expensive military in the world, before you learn the lesson. We went into Afghanistan to Capture Bin Laden.... We failed.... Then Bush changed the mission.... He never captured Bin Laden.... Obama did... But we remained under the Changed Mission of Bush " Bring Democracy to the Middle East". WTF????
#3
a permanent occupation of afghanistan would be a dream come true for the red state defense industries. thus far, republicans have failed on their cap gains tax cut promises from obamacare repeal, and their new so called tax reform bill which mirrors the mid 1980s design of removing middle class itemized deductions so the rich can have an even lower tax rate. nothing in trump's agenda will likely ever benefit the working classes.
#4
#5
So I wonder how all of those vets and current soldiers feel about a damn rich boy draft dodger telling them they weren't fighting to win all these years? Are the Generals willing to admit they haven't been fighting to win?
How many trillions have been wasted on this war??? So is it tax and spend warfare Republicans????..or is it.... spend on endless war, create debt, and then blame the Democrats for out of control spending??? As we all know, our fascist controlled media dictates what flows into the heads of the populous.
Those who control the message have most of the country thinking our debt was and is being created by liberal " entitlement spending", you know Socialist programs like Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, food stamps, low income housing programs, meals on wheels, PBS, postal system etc.
The only message Diane, Kend, Bachmann and the average citizen hear ... lazy people are why you pay so much tax....never a word about the cost of endless warfare. The dems sure as hell won't go on offense and mention it anymore than the party doing all the spending. We could easily have single payer with all those trillons....and then raise the cap.
#6
Thom, Trump is diverting attention away from his pro-Nazi BS from last week. Easiest way? Start or jack-up a war. Wave flags, mom & apple pie. Now, don't we all just feel SO MUCH BETTER about our little Donnie?
Thom, you need to ask the most perceptive questions, not the superficial GOP BS ones.
#7
Trump's problem is that he is a theif. He used to steal dollars. This time he stole an election to steal money. He has no shot of being a good president because he has to spend all his time defending his burglary.
Had he not done that, he was still unprepared for the job and without a caring soul. But he might have been able to be "a" president had he won fairly.
Now, he can't.
He has to go.
GOP will know soon.
#8
Thom, where did you get major escalation out of President Trump's speech? So far all I see is him following Obama's policies. Your declaration of it being a of a major escalation is interesting and profound.
Let's concentrate on something more meaningful,
his kids
election rigging
Russians
Nazis
lease on the old Post Office
his ties
#9
Your "How many trillions have been wasted on this war???"
5 Trillion: just Google it.
#10
Trump isn't looking for either because he doesn't care. What he's looking for is permanent distraction from the Russia investigation and the debacle of his handling of Charlottesville.
#11
War profiteering is timeless and oligarchs never miss when making money. WWl, WWll, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf were all preventable wars, but the money made for the oligarchs was well, priceless. The Afghan war has raged for 17 years and Trump is adding more years, money and blood to that number. What a waste of humanity.
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Donald Trump is going to declare a win in Afghanistan the same way George W. did when the Navy landed him on that aircraft carrier. Any thing that goes wrong after that will be the fault of his Generals. That's why he always tells us that they have full control. He needs a win. Even a temporary one will do.