Do It. Do It Today. Call Everyone Home.
What am I talking about? The New York Times:
“Increasingly frustrated by his dealings with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama is giving serious consideration to speeding up the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan and to a ‘zero option’ that would leave no American troops there after next year.”
Make it a spectacle. A massive airlift that takes every single American out within 48 hours. Karzai has been an ungrateful and corrupt son of a bitch for 10 years now. Let him fend for himself. Let him try to run his country without the US there.
This is what irks me:
This entire business may have been a mess, but disrepecting the people who spent a good deal of treasure they didn’t have is beyond the pale. Just bring them all home.
Anyone who has watched Mafia movies knows what one must do to stay alive. Karzai apparently has watched them too.
Karzai’s survival depends entirely on the US. The minute we leave, he is likely a dead man. So perhaps it was not wise for him to piss off Obama.
There will be no speedy exit, it would leave open the possibility of a Republican attack along the lines of “who lost Afghanistan”. That and we should be so lucky.
Not to mention that these thousands of soldiers will come home and find out there are no jobs for them.
I’d bet against any accelerated troop withdrawal until the White House figures out away to counter the inevitable screams that “Obama cut defense and raised unemployment.”
Just another failed invasion in a long history of failed invasions of Afghanistan going back a thousand years.
Remember how Obama, and the media touted this as the “smart war”.
So, what exactly was accomplished here?
Mediawatch, The veterans unemployment rate is much lower than the national average. The only reason veterans age 18-24 have such a high rate is because they are riding unemployment while on the post 9/11 GI bill because it is optimal. Look at the stats. I had 10 job offers I turned down last year for many different reasons. Veterans will be employed at a better rate than everyone else because of Federal and state tax credits and preference.
National 7.6%
All Veterans (100%)6.3%-0.3%
Male 6.1%-0.6%
Female7.6%1.6%
Post-9/11 Veterans (23%)7.2%-0.1%
Male 6.8%-1.0%
Female 8.9%4.0%
18-24 Veterans* (5%) 20.5% 3.5%
Male 25.3% 3.0%
Female**9.0%
25-34 Veterans (11%)5.6%-1.2%
Male4.8%-2.7%
Female9.2%6.6%
35-44 Veterans (16%)5.4%-0.9%
Male4.7%-0.2%
Female8.3%-3.4%
45-54 Veterans (26%)6.3%-0.1%
Male6.1%-0.8%
Female7.4% 4.0%
55+ Veterans (42%) 6.3%-0.3%
Male 6.4%-0.3%
Female 5.4% 0.7%
Simple solution load all troops on a plane today and get out look at Nam today doing good all by themselves without any of our troops there. Besides go into any Golf shop and you will notice that most of the shirts are made there.
Yes FBH because Obama invaded Afghanistan in 2001.
Incredible.