Nader writes: "The American people are entitled to know how so much American
military might and the trillions of dollars spent in Iraq and Afghanistan,
since 2003 and 2001 respectively, is unable to defeat either the Taliban or
ISIS."
Ralph Nader. (photo: Sage Ross/WikiMedia Commons)
Afghanistan and Iraq: Lessons for the Imperial
By Ralph Nader, Reader Supported News
10 October 15
The photographs in the New York Times told contrasting stories last week.
One showed two Taliban soldiers in civilian clothes and sandals, with their
rifles, standing in front of a captured U.N. vehicle. The Taliban forces had
taken the northern provincial capital of Kunduz. The other photograph showed
Afghan army soldiers fully equipped with modern gear, weapons, and vehicles.
Guess who is winning? An estimated 30,000 Taliban soldiers with no air
force, navy, or heavy weapons have been holding down 10 times more Afghan
army and police and over 100,000 U.S. soldiers with the world's most modern
weaponry -- for eight years.
ISIS forces from Syria have taken over large areas of northern and western
Iraq, including its second largest city, Mosul, and the battered city of
Fallujah. ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria are estimated to number no more than
35,000. Like the Taliban, ISIS fighters, who vary in their military
training, primarily have light weaponry. That is when they are not taking
control of the fleeing, much larger, Iraqi army's armored vehicles and
ammunition from the United States.
Against vastly greater numbers of Iraqi soldiers, backed by U.S. weapons,
U.S. planes bombing daily, 24/7 aerial surveillance, and U.S. military
advisors at the ground level, so far ISIS is still holding most of its
territory and is still dominant in large parts of Syria.
The American people are entitled to know how all this military might and the
trillions of dollars spent in Iraq and Afghanistan, since 2003 and 2001
respectively, can produce such negative fallouts.
Certainly these failures have little to do with observing the restraints of
international law. Presidents Bush and Obama have sent military power
anywhere and everywhere, regardless of national boundaries and the resulting
immense civilian casualties, in those tragic, blown-apart countries.
The current perception of the U.S. in these countries is that of invaders on
a rampage. Recruiting motivated fighters, including a seemingly endless
supply of suicide bombers, is easier when the invaders come from western
countries that for over a century have been known for attacking, carving up
boundaries for artificial states, intervening, overthrowing, propping up
domestic dictators, and generally siding with oligarchic or colonizing
interests that brutalize the mass of the people.
It hasn't helped for these invasions to be supported by an alien culture
rooted in the Christian crusades against Islam centuries ago, whose jingoism
in the U.S. continues among some evangelical groups today.
But of course more contemporary situations are, first and foremost, the
wonton destruction and violent chaos that comes with such invasions. With
the absence of any functioning central governments and the dominance of
tribal societies, the sheer complexity of the invaders trying to figure out
the intricate "politics" between and within tribes and clans turns into an
immense, ongoing trap for the western military forces.
When the U.S. started taking sides with the Shiites against the Sunnis in
Iraq, or between different clans and tribes in Afghanistan, U.S. soldiers,
not knowing the language or customs, were left with handing out $100 bills
to build alliances. Our government air-shipped and distributed crates of
this money. With the local economies at a standstill, public facilities
collapsed, fear gripped families from violent streets and roads, and all
havoc broke lose in the struggle for safety and survival.
Afghan soldiers, who are paid only $120 a month, will do almost anything to
supplement their income, including selling weapons. At higher levels,
bribes, payoffs, extortions create an underground economic system. The
combination of lack of understanding, the systemic bribes, and the ensuing
corruption has produced a climate of chaos.
Then there is the reckless slaughter of civilians -- wedding parties,
schools, clinics, peasant boys collecting fire-wood on a hillside -- from
supposedly pinpoint, accurate airplanes, helicopter gunships, drones or
missiles. Hatred of the Americans spreads as people lose their loved ones.
Our "blowback" policies are fueling the expansion of al-Qaeda offshoots and
new violent groups in over 20 countries. On 9/11, the "threat" was coming
from a corner of one country -- northeastern Afghanistan. The Bush/Cheney
prevaricator frenzy led to local bounty hunters taking innocent captives,
falsely labeled as "terrorists," who were sent to the prisons in Guantanamo,
Cuba. These actions have damaged our country's reputation all over the
world.
All this could have been avoided had we heeded the advice of retired,
high-ranking military, national security, and diplomatic officials not to
invade Iraq and their advice not to overreact in Afghanistan. But the supine
mass media, and an overall cowardly Congress let the lies, deceptions, and
cover-ups by the Bush regime go unchallenged and, as Congressman Ron Paul
(R-TX) put it, Bush/Cheney "lied us into the Iraq War."
It isn't as if the Taliban and ISIS are winning the "hearts and minds" of
the local people. On the contrary, while promising law and order, they treat
local populations quite brutally, with few exceptions. But the locals have
long been treated brutally by the police, army, and militias jockeying for
the spoils of conflict. Unfortunately, there is still no semblance of
ground-level security.
All empires fail and eventually devour themselves. The U.S. empire is no
different. Look at the harm to and drain on our soldiers, our domestic
economy, the costly, boomeranging, endless wars overseas and what empire
building has done to spread anxieties and lower the expectation level of the
American people for their public budgets and public services.
Not repeatedly doing what has failed is the first step toward correction.
How much better and cheaper it would be if years ago we became a
humanitarian power -- well-received by the deprived billions in these
anguished lands.
What changes are needed to get out of these quagmires and leave a semblance
of recovery behind? Press those gaggles of presidential candidates, who
war-monger with impunity or who are dodging this grave matter, for answers.
Make them listen to you.
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class="txtimg"><BR><H1 class="txttitle">Afghanistan and Iraq: Lessons for
the Imperial</H1><P class="txtauthor">By Ralph Nader, Reader Supported
News</P><P class="date">10 October 15</P><P> </P><P><IMG
src="/images/stories/alphabet/rsn-T.jpg" border="0">he photographs in the
New York Times told contrasting stories last week. One showed two Taliban
soldiers in civilian clothes and sandals, with their rifles, standing in
front of a captured U.N. vehicle. The Taliban forces had taken the northern
provincial capital of Kunduz. The other photograph showed Afghan army
soldiers fully equipped with modern gear, weapons, and vehicles.</P><P
class="indent">Guess who is winning? An estimated 30,000 Taliban soldiers
with no air force, navy, or heavy weapons have been holding down 10 times
more Afghan army and police and over 100,000 U.S. soldiers with the world's
most modern weaponry -- for eight years.</P><P class="indent">ISIS forces
from Syria have taken over large areas of northern and western Iraq,
including its second largest city, Mosul, and the battered city of Fallujah.
ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria are estimated to number no more than 35,000.
Like the Taliban, ISIS fighters, who vary in their military training,
primarily have light weaponry. That is when they are not taking control of
the fleeing, much larger, Iraqi army's armored vehicles and ammunition from
the United States.</P><P class="indent">Against vastly greater numbers of
Iraqi soldiers, backed by U.S. weapons, U.S. planes bombing daily, 24/7
aerial surveillance, and U.S. military advisors at the ground level, so far
ISIS is still holding most of its territory and is still dominant in large
parts of Syria.</P><P class="indent">The American people are entitled to
know how all this military might and the trillions of dollars spent in Iraq
and Afghanistan, since 2003 and 2001 respectively, can produce such negative
fallouts.</P><P class="indent">Certainly these failures have little to do
with observing the restraints of international law. Presidents Bush and
Obama have sent military power anywhere and everywhere, regardless of
national boundaries and the resulting immense civilian casualties, in those
tragic, blown-apart countries.</P><P class="indent">The current perception
of the U.S. in these countries is that of invaders on a rampage. Recruiting
motivated fighters, including a seemingly endless supply of suicide bombers,
is easier when the invaders come from western countries that for over a
century have been known for attacking, carving up boundaries for artificial
states, intervening, overthrowing, propping up domestic dictators, and
generally siding with oligarchic or colonizing interests that brutalize the
mass of the people.</P><P class="indent">It hasn't helped for these
invasions to be supported by an alien culture rooted in the Christian
crusades against Islam centuries ago, whose jingoism in the U.S. continues
among some evangelical groups today.</P><P class="indent">But of course more
contemporary situations are, first and foremost, the wonton destruction and
violent chaos that comes with such invasions. With the absence of any
functioning central governments and the dominance of tribal societies, the
sheer complexity of the invaders trying to figure out the intricate
"politics" between and within tribes and clans turns into an immense,
ongoing trap for the western military forces.</P><P class="indent">When the
U.S. started taking sides with the Shiites against the Sunnis in Iraq, or
between different clans and tribes in Afghanistan, U.S. soldiers, not
knowing the language or customs, were left with handing out $100 bills to
build alliances. Our government air-shipped and distributed crates of this
money. With the local economies at a standstill, public facilities
collapsed, fear gripped families from violent streets and roads, and all
havoc broke lose in the struggle for safety and survival.</P><P
class="indent">Afghan soldiers, who are paid only $120 a month, will do
almost anything to supplement their income, including selling weapons. At
higher levels, bribes, payoffs, extortions create an underground economic
system. The combination of lack of understanding, the systemic bribes, and
the ensuing corruption has produced a climate of chaos.</P><P
class="indent">Then there is the reckless slaughter of civilians -- wedding
parties, schools, clinics, peasant boys collecting fire-wood on a hillside
-- from supposedly pinpoint, accurate airplanes, helicopter gunships, drones
or missiles. Hatred of the Americans spreads as people lose their loved
ones.</P><P class="indent">Our "blowback" policies are fueling the expansion
of al-Qaeda offshoots and new violent groups in over 20 countries. On 9/11,
the "threat" was coming from a corner of one country -- northeastern
Afghanistan. The Bush/Cheney prevaricator frenzy led to local bounty hunters
taking innocent captives, falsely labeled as "terrorists," who were sent to
the prisons in Guantanamo, Cuba. These actions have damaged our country's
reputation all over the world.</P><P class="indent">All this could have been
avoided had we heeded the advice of retired, high-ranking military, national
security, and diplomatic officials not to invade Iraq and their advice not
to overreact in Afghanistan. But the supine mass media, and an overall
cowardly Congress let the lies, deceptions, and cover-ups by the Bush regime
go unchallenged and, as Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) put it, Bush/Cheney
"lied us into the Iraq War."</P><P class="indent">It isn't as if the Taliban
and ISIS are winning the "hearts and minds" of the local people. On the
contrary, while promising law and order, they treat local populations quite
brutally, with few exceptions. But the locals have long been treated
brutally by the police, army, and militias jockeying for the spoils of
conflict. Unfortunately, there is still no semblance of ground-level
security.</P><P class="indent">All empires fail and eventually devour
themselves. The U.S. empire is no different. Look at the harm to and drain
on our soldiers, our domestic economy, the costly, boomeranging, endless
wars overseas and what empire building has done to spread anxieties and
lower the expectation level of the American people for their public budgets
and public services.</P><P class="indent">Not repeatedly doing what has
failed is the first step toward correction. How much better and cheaper it
would be if years ago we became a humanitarian power -- well-received by the
deprived billions in these anguished lands.</P><P class="indent">What
changes are needed to get out of these quagmires and leave a semblance of
recovery behind? Press those gaggles of presidential candidates, who
war-monger with impunity or who are dodging this grave matter, for answers.
Make them listen to you.</P></DIV><p style="text-align: right; display:
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