Wow. Slate analysts have an uncanny knack for missing the point no matter how large and looming it is.

So, leave it to the Fray. Here's a clue, Dickerson--

A. nobody gives a fucking rat's ass about corruption in Afghanistan. In fact, if their leadership were not corrupt, we could not buy them and thus we could not exert any control over them. A corrupt leadership is the sine qua non of maintaining hegemony in a Muslim backwater thousands of miles from our shores. FUCKING DUH, you dumbass.

B. what does matter is our ability to accomplish the limited but necessary hegemonic goals. They are: 1) protecting petroleum pipelines from the Caspian Sea to Turkey; 2) denying safe havens to terrorists or insurgents that would otherwise use Afghanistan to launch attacks against the US or its overseas assets; 3) allowing the US to maintain force forward facilities on the Pakistani and Iranian borders to allow efficient force projection in those regions.

Those goals do not require pacification of the entire country or even large parts of it. What they do require is that we obtain good intelligence from indigenous sources, a free hand for our own intelligence services to collect information; a free hand to use military force inside the country or across its borders against its neighbors. Other than that, they can set their women on fire and sodomize all the pre-teen boys they want to for all we care. It's not our problem.

Since those requirements can largely be met by maintaining a rump govt in Kabul and good relations with local warlords (be they Northern Alliance monsters or Taliban monsters), there is no need for massive garrisoning of every region, or for backing up the central govt militarily every time it wants to punish a miscreant client warlord or take away some irrelevant region from Taliban control. We know where we need to have control and as long as the gov't there gives us a free hand to operate in those areas, the rest of Afghanistan can go to hell.

Now, of course the foregoing is an entirely immoral, anti-American position which will ultimately result in the destruction of the Republic (if it isn't already effectively destroyed). But that's for another debate. There are simply no conditions under which the US will be able to leave Afghanistan-- what we are striving for are conditions under which the US will be able to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely.

That Slate contributors either don't or won't understand this simply, undeniable fact is simply indicative of what happens when the function is not truth to enlighten but propaganda to confuse and demoralize.

Fucking lap monkey pieces of shit.

One three uses of "Fuck" or a variant; only two uses of "ass" or a variant, and only one use of the word "shit."

What's gotten into you? Are you going back to church or something?

Doodahman: they can set their women on fire and sodomize all the pre-teen boys they want to for all we care. It's not our problem.

LeRoy: It may astonish you, but some of us actually care about things like that. And, evidently, they no longer need to set their women on fire. The women are doing it to themselves. In a news story out just today, some girls in Afghanistan are setting themselves on fire in order to avoid marriage to much older men. Apparently, if you make yourself ugly enough, no dirty old man will want to marry you.

LeRoy_Was_Here:

Doodahman: they can set their women on fire and sodomize all the pre-teen boys they want to for all we care. It's not our problem.

LeRoy: It may astonish you, but some of us actually care about things like that. And, evidently, they no longer need to set their women on fire. The women are doing it to themselves. In a news story out just today, some girls in Afghanistan are setting themselves on fire in order to avoid marriage to much older men. Apparently, if you make yourself ugly enough, no dirty old man will want to marry you.

Then volunteer your ass to go over there and fix it. This is no basis for fighting wars, especially when it's become quite clear that our occupation isn't doing shit to change those aspects of their society.

How do you maintain a 'force forward facility' when the entire country has fallen to the Taliban? This isn't wild west with Indians circling Fort Appache. Talking about a dumb fuck. The 'force forward facility' should have been the long time development of rapid deployment forces, on the level of a division or less in a matter of hours. Then we can station our forces at home, totally side-stepping the divisive international politics. In essence, it's the modern version of gun boat diplomacy. Much more powerful in it's thred, and totally useful to take out a terrorist training camp anywhere, not just in Pashtun tribal regions, but anywhere. And that's not landing a sidewinder on target, but surrounding the terrorist training camp, collecting the backwash, and testing it for gunshot residue. Interrogating the rest. Next day, adios.

"protecting petroleum pipelines from the Caspian Sea to Turkey" for that one, you need an army, stationed on site.

also, obama as CO, should talk to lieutenants in Afghan. The army brass, as usual, has its head up each others ass and can't be bothered to be onsite. The tactics used in remote camps, and the equipment of US troops needs to be changed. Every squad needs at least 3 Barret .50 cals with Svarovski scopes and night vision equipment to take out Taliban fire at them from surrounding montains. Shoulder fired Stingers need new war heads and modified heat seaking aiming devices so they can be used as anti-personell weapons at longer range. This will give a combat squad the ability to eliminate the enemy long range, quickly, in the long range theatre of mountain warfare where M16's do not have the reach. Aside from suitable combat patrol vehicles. The cluster fuck that is the Army brass needs some shock and awe from their rank and file. Obama the CO can help there. And this is not just usable in Afghan, but in any theater of conflict, let the force structure be determined by the requirements on the ground. Not weapons acquisition programs from 20 years ago.