Caution: Quagmire Ahead!

The eight year war in Afghanistan looks more and more like the war in Viet Nam.

Unwinnable by military power, yet lacking a comprehensive political strategy for winning support of the Afghan people, the war grinds along, consuming lives and resources, as it wears down the resolve of the Afghans and the patience of Americans. How long can we avoid looking frankly at what is realistically achievable? And that only after we clearly define our logistical goal there. If terrorism is our enemy, we need to coldly assess what is causing it, and stop fueling its growth. Drones and smart bombs are clearly not the answer.

There is still hope for Obama to act for peace. A significant part of his election support was from the peace movement; which has since waited for the change to happen on its own. It won't, without support from those who sent him to change policy. The dreadful resources of the war culture are firmly entrenched in DC, and Obama, if so inclined, can only challenge it with a popular mandate.

A number of well-known antiwar activists have signed onto a statement being circulated by the Campaign for Peace and Democracy, calling for an end to US military intervention in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The statement and a partial list of signers are at http://www.cpdweb.org/stmts/1014/stmt.shtml.