Permanent US military bases in Afghanistan
 

Yo,

found a poll on Tolonews.com (one of the TV channels in Afghanistan, run by Aussies).

Says the following:


Do You think Establishment of the US Permanent Military Bases Will be Beneficial to Afghanistan?

HITS PERCENT
Yes
1200 61.8%
No
659 34%
I Don't Know
82 4.2%


Afghan voters. From what I've seen on BBC News and heard from some US servicemen, the opinion within military personnel is even stronger towards permanent bases.

What do you think?

How would these 'permanent bases' come about? Say you had decided you wanted to keep your cruise missiles at Greenham Common for as long as you wanted to - a permanant base - would that make you an invading force? Squatters? - what would that have made you?
Worrying news from Amnesty that McCain (not alone), is trying to get Guantanamo made permanent. This is going before your house to become legislation. There are detainees that have been there for many years having been cured - I think one chap cleared has spent 8 yrs waiting for america to tell him where in the world he has their permission to resettle. If America is asked to leave and close the 'temporary' torture camp, would america go to war in the interest of world peace which will be much better if they have more overseas permanent bases? Will you be annexing all of Cuba, or just some of it?

I haven't heard anything about permanent U.S. bases in Afghanistan. It doesn't surprise me that it is something they are thinking about doing.
The servicemen and women (U.S.) I have talked with feel like they aren't doing any good for the citizens out around the forward operating bases.
I can understand how the area around the large bases could be a safer place for the citizens....thinking that the insurgents would just leave that area alone. It could also make it worse for the citizens...if the insurgents stayed near the bases and attacked the bases often.

and maybe we'll lay a bit of pipeline too.

http://www.worldpress.org/images/maps/central_asia1.gif

looks like 9 and roach hit the nail on the head before I could. No big surprise WHY we fighting the endless war between Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia.

usa has lost this war already. The Taliban will take over the power soon, and the people support them. And how much money it will cost? I am against imperialism.
dewanand

ISAF, incl. US military, isn't leaving this place anytime soon. Definitely not by 2014/2015.

And I'd wager that to be a good thing.

If the U.S. military pulls out before the taliban is all but wiped out completely... then the whole time spent over there is useless. The taliban will just re-take over the land and control again with fear and money.

That was the moron logic of some in 'Nam. Newsflash: You can't "kill all the Taliban."

If you're not bombing them, you're dealing with the power players for whatever reason.

We're occupying the country to do the whole hearts and minds bullshit. It's beyond me.

IMO, short of the usual imperialist rape-the-resources thing, we have no business there.

Nation-building A-stan is like nation-building the moon. There is no payoff.

Except, for some reason, they've got a pretty great TKD team.

:bowdown:Plan9!