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We are warned about Afghanistan, but choose not to listen (part 2)

By Larry Kummer, Editor / Leave a Comment / 19 July 2009 2 June 2013

Continued from yesterday’s post… Unlike Iraq, we have had wise and eloquent warnings about our folly in Afghanistan. Such as this article, which I strongly recommend reading in full. The Taliban Rope-a-Dome, Franklin Spinney, Counterpunch, 14 July 2009 Excerpt Every conflict, be it conventional or unconventional, embodies an amalgam of physical, mental, and moral effects. …

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Why are we fighting in Pakistan?

By Larry Kummer, Editor / 17 Comments / 14 May 2009 8 August 2009

The Afghanistan War is absurd. Extending our wars into Pakistan is insane. For more moderate expressions of essentially the same view, here are essays from a diverse range of sources. ‘”Legends of the fail“, Manan Ahmed, The National, 7 May 2009 — About the decades-old tradition of experts predicting that Pakistan will collapse any day now. Also …

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Stratfor: “The Strategic Debate Over Afghanistan”

By Larry Kummer, Editor / 9 Comments / 13 May 2009 14 October 2010

This is one of the best reports I have seen from Stratfor in many years, high praise considering their quality of work. The section in red nicely sums up our situation in Iraq. The second half is confused, reflecting as it does the confusion of thought at our Versailles-on-the-Potomac and our delusions of hegemony. “The …

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The US tells Pakistan to pick a side. Or else…

By Larry Kummer, Editor / 16 Comments / 4 May 2009 11 September 2011

Summary: A look at a good research note about the war in Pakistan, and how it shows the West’s difficulty in understanding and adapting to the new world of the 21st century. Failure in our Middle East wars might result from failure to do better at this. Intelligence Research Ltd is a sharp group providing …

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“Strategic Divergence: The War Against the Taliban and the War Against Al Qaeda” by George Friedman

By Larry Kummer, Editor / 19 Comments / 31 January 2009 21 February 2009

One of the few sensible voices I have heard about our strategy in Afghanistan. A mild voice, as usual for Freidman, but a logical and incisive one. Let’s hope decision-makers are listening. As usual, he provides no summary. Note the bold emphasis I’ve added to his conclusions near the end. “Strategic Divergence: The War Against …

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