-> On 27 May 09  10:16:19, Richard Webb got back to Dan Ceppa 
-> Re: Using What Works

 DC> That's the problem of not knowing your enemy or even your friends.
 DC> There  was no solid plan as to the aftermath of the war.  In the
 DC> case of  Afghanistan, the main goal was put on hold to go after the
 DC> straw man  in Iraq. 

 RW> OF course, that and quite a bit of cultural myopia and just
 RW> plain old fashioned greed.  COmbine those three and you've
 RW> got a recipe for disaster.

It was all about oil.  Afghanistan and Al Q'aeda were only the 
excuses to connect Saddam with it  to "justify" an invasion.  I wonder 
how many Americans still make the false connection that Saddam and bin 
Laden were partners?  

 
 DC> Now, there are major problems in 3 countries in the region.   

 RW> OF course, and political fallout that will last for
 RW> generations.  tHIs isn't going to be an easy or quick fix.

It's ugly.  The latest I caught is that we're in Afghanistan for at 
least another 10 years.  Such a situation won't fly in the US as well 
as in the Middle East.  



... "You need to know your enemy in order to defeat him." -- Sun Tzu
--- OMX/Blue Wave/DOS v2.30