Reply #248: The military option is the worst one

[Lydia Leftcoast]

because it only creates martyrs.

Recall that the Taliban offered to turn Osama bin Laden over to the U.S. if the U.S. offered proof of his guilt. The Bush administration didn't even try. They went in with guns blazing.

The Taliban were defeated, and that would have been the time to rush in massive humanitarian aid, preferably with the cooperation of the moderate Islamic countries such as Tunisia and Bangladesh.

But no, the Bushboy had to have his war.

Afghanistan is a complicated, multi-ethnic country. Our biggest mistake was to support Islamic militants in 1979, six months before the Soviets came in. The Marxist government that our government was so afraid of was for women's rights. But no, they were big bad Communists, so we had to arm and train the Afghan equivalent of freepers to fight against them.

Whatever we owe the Afghans, it's not more war.

My solution would be to pull back to areas that our forces actually hold and invite in aid groups from liberal Islamic countries to set up humanitarian projects and self-help groups. Pay them if necessary. It would be cheaper than the military option. Stay in the background.

Buy the opium crop from the Afghan farmers, give what's needed for medical purposes, and destroy the rest.

Step out of the quagmire and walk around it.