[A-List] Why Peaceniks Should Care About the Afghanistan Study

[Todd Boyle]

I don't agree with Robert Naiman and "Just Foreign Policy" grandiose
recommendation, which I quote below.  The people of Pakistan and
Afghanistan don't want what we're pushing.  And there is nothing "we"
can do to make that happen.  The peoples of the region will have to
sort things out for themselves.  Very similar to China, central asia,
vietnam and so many other places that escaped the military domination
of the United States --- and wonder of wonders, they did just fine.
The solution is pretty simple.  Dismantle the occupation in a steady,
rational pace, being completely OUT in 6 to 12 months.   --Todd

According to http://www.afghanistanstudygroup.org/

The way Forward: A five point approach

    * 1  Emphasize Power-Sharing and Political Reconciliation
    * 2  Scale Back and Eventually Suspend Combat Operations in the 
South and Reduce the U.S. Military Footprint
    * 3  Keep the Focus on Al Qaeda and Domestic Security
    * 4  Promote Economic Development
    * 5  Engage Global and Regional Stakeholders.
The United States should by no means abandon Afghanistan, but it is 
time to abandon the current strategy that is not working. Trying to 
pacify Afghanistan by force of arms will not work, and a costly 
military campaign there is more likely to jeopardize America's vital 
security interests than to protect them. The Study Group believes 
that the United States should pursue more modest goals that are both 
consistent with America's true interests and far more likely to 
succeed. <http://www.afghanistanstudygroup.org/?page_id=27>Read the 
full report.





At 11:15 AM 9/10/2010, c b wrote:
>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/why-peaceniks-should-care_b_712333.html
>
>There is a tradition among some peace activists of striking a pose of
>annoyed indifference to the question of how to get out of an unpopular war.
>"There are three ways to get out," goes one waggish response. "Air, land,
>and sea."
>
>This is funny and emotionally satisfying, and also represents a truth for
>peace activists: ending the war is a first principle, not something
>contingent on whether a particular means of doing so satisfies someone
>else's notion of what is practical.
>
>On the other hand, peace activists can't be satisfied with being right; they
>also are morally compelled to try to be effective. And part of being
>effective is giving consideration to, and seeking to publicize, arguments
>are likely to end the war sooner rather than later. It's not likely, for
>example, that discussing ways in which the war might be useful for the
>long-term maintenance of the "capitalist world system" will turn the
>Washington debate against war in the short run. If, on the other hand,
>central to the official story is a claim that the war is a war against Al
>Qaeda, but senior U.S. officials publicly concede that there is no
>significant Al Qaeda presence today in Afghanistan, that is certainly a fact
>worth knowing and spreading.
>
>This is why it is important for as many people as possible to read and
>digest the short and accessible
>report<http://www.afghanistanstudygroup.org/>of the "Afghanistan
>Study Group <http://www.afghanistanstudygroup.org/>" which has been publicly
>unveiled this week. The assumptions and conclusions of the ASG report should
>be the subject of a thousand debates. But there are a few things about it
>that one can say without fear of reasonable contradiction. The authors of
>the report oppose the war and want to end it. The principal authors of the
>report are Washington insiders with a strong claim to expertise about what
>sort of arguments are likely to move Washington debate. The authors of the
>report have a strategy for trying to move Washington debate so that at the
>next fork in the road, the choice made is to de-escalate the war and move
>towards its conclusion, rather than to escalate it further. Therefore, the
>arguments made deserve careful consideration. They may not be particularly
>useful for making posters for a demonstration. But for lobbying
>Congressional staff, writing a letter to the editor, or making any other
>presentation to people who are not already on our side, the arguments of the
>Afghanistan Study Group are likely to be useful.
>
>[...]
>--
>Robert Naiman
>Policy Director
>Just Foreign Policy
>www.justforeignpolicy.org
>naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
>
>Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from
>Afghanistan
>http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
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