Five coalition troops have been killed so far on Sunday, according to NATO, in the fight against insurgents and terrorists in Afghanistan. In an interview with The Washington Post published the same day, this is how Afghan President Hamid Karzai thanked the men and women of our allied forces for their sacrifices to combat the evil threatening his land and the world.
"The time has come to reduce military operations,"Karzai said. "The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan . . . to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life."
If you are a regular or even occasional reader of The Unknown Soldiers,you know that I rarely write about politics, as I strongly believe the subject is a distraction from the heroism of our men and women on the battlefield. Yet when a world leader, especially representing the very nation for which over one thousand Americans have died to liberate, it is impossible to sit on the sidelines.
How dare President Karzairefer to our troops, who help build schools, roads, and hospitals, not
to mention confront the terrorists killing and maiming innocent civilians, as intrusive to Afghans. If American Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen are displaying 'intrusiveness,' what does he think
of the brutal militants planting bombs in villages, oppressing women, and using children as human shields?
The intention of this post is not to take a political stance on the war in Afghanistan, although I openly believe that Gen. David Petraeusand the extraordinary men and women he commands are absolutely capable of winning the war. It is to remind everyone, especially journalists who continually fail to challenge Karzai's increasingly insane rhetoric,that we are this good guys in this post-9/11 conflict. Incredibly, Karzai had the nerve to relay the sentiments of the Taliban, which harbored Osama bin Laden before and after the terrorist attacks on New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, during his conversation with The Washington Post.
"Theyfeel the same way as we do here. That too many people are suffering for no reason. Their own families are suffering," he said, and it is this "national suffering they'd like to address with us."
First,regardless of where you stand on when troops should be withdrawn, there was a clear, noble reason for the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. The United States of America was attacked and the brutal Taliban regime refused to hand over the murderers responsible.
Second, I don't care about how insurgents 'feel.' I care about families like those of these 14 fallen warriors, all of whom volunteered to fight against terrorism, murder, and totalitarianism and for freedom, security, and peace.
In between his chats with insurgents, I wonder if President Karzai has bothered to become familiar with the story of Sgt. Joe Wrightsman,the heroic U.S. Marine who jumped into the Helmand River to save a drowning Afghan officer. Haji Abdul Manaf, the Nawa District governor, appropriately attended the fallen hero's Afghanistan memorial service and proclaimed that "his dedication will stay forever in the history of Afghanistan." Sadly, the actions of Afghanistan's president do not measure up to Manaf's noble tribute.
read the rest of this here....also watch some videos/stories of more heroes.
Replies
To make matters worse the 'ISLAMIC' Chairman Obamanation and his Obamanation 'a'administration support these talks with the very Taliban Enemy that we are fighting....
There is something very wrong with this picture - See my Post "Could Withdrawal be Just an Obama Ruse"? ? ?
Take Care,
TSGT Clough
I agree our troops are being ill-supported by the national leaders...neither Karzai nor Obama are stable enough to retain an ROE more than a month or so.....Petraeus and the US General Staff in Afghanistan should resign and petition the US Congress to cut off funding, leaving only enough for security and transportion of our troops home......
If Karzai and the Taliban attempt to pursue any action that would indicate further terrorist training involvement threatening America, then we simply take out the leadership in Afghanistan without boots on the ground...just short of making a mirror shine in Afghanistan...\
But where to find leadership willing to fight the fight to win.......we haven't had one since WWII.