Charlie Rose

rojelio  08/29/2010 08:06 PM Report

Afghanistan is a trillion dollars and counting giant sucking chest wound for the USA. Meanwhile we're in 13.4 trillion dollars of debt (usdebtclock.org) and our country is disintegrating. I still haven't heard any good reason why we need to crash ourselves into another depression in order to stay in Afghanistan and kill civilians in Pakistan.

robdverity  08/15/2010 11:11 PM Report

Needs repeating: the amount of Af-Pak war funds converted to Pak. flood relief would do more for hearts and minds and ultimately a meaningful results for our efforts. Course we might save lives for once rather finish them.

marshall1  08/15/2010 07:00 PM Report

When Mr. Obama had come into office, he had constantly preached about change; so the Afghan people were also encouraged about change in their country. But in the last Afghan election, Karzai's motives were to cheat and take office once again.

The Afghan people were dissapointed because Karzai is a corrupt and unqualified President. He does not want to improve Afghanistan.

In the elections opposing Karzai were 2 other runners ready to take office in Afghanistan, and they were much more qualified then Karzai. But the U.S.A had not helped the other 2 running for Presidency,their names are "Ashraf Gani Ahmadzai" and "Ramazan bashrdost".

And when the U.S.A had not helped those 2 runners, the U.S.A itself had lost interest in Afghanistan and it's people.

The U.S.A knows the ISI (Inter Service Intelligence) conspiracy of helping the Taliban in the fight against Nato and the Afghan people. But the U.S.A doesn't punish the ISI to stop with their current actions. This fact is well known to Mr. Obama and because of it they have lost full interest in helping the Afghan people.

If Mr. Obama want's to succeed in Afghanistan he must appoint a qualified person as a President of Afghanistan like "Ashraf gani" and take action agains the ISI.

salgadoce  08/14/2010 11:05 AM Report

"...They key, in my mind, to everything, in the end, will be our ability to train the Army and the Police, and that's a difficult, difficult process, but it is essential; and the President is personally focused on every detail of that..we've spent a great deal of time on it in our briefings."

That's funny; that's really funny. I'm sure that, from the briefing room, everything seems possible. And I'm sure that, in terms of powerpoint presentations, briefing memos, and org charts, the President and the State Department have a brilliant strategy in place.

Way to go, Brown/Princeton.

charlizecourriers  08/13/2010 05:08 PM Report

Form without content, and even the form is stale. I doubt Richard will be there when the Taliban 'Tet' offensive takes place; but let's hope he is so he can understand why men and women fight. Like Vietnam, it will be then too late to introduce deeply held core beliefs such as freedom, women's rights, justice, and honest government, even by his replacement. For men such as Richard, losing is an option, which is why he will lose, again.

robdverity  08/13/2010 02:40 PM Report

This is totally discountable due to unbridled bias against this guy. He makes my skin crawl. He epitomises all that is wrong with us anymore - by complicity. He all but admitted that corruption cut across all govts in the area INCLUDING THE US. This profiteering is the primary fuel that will keep us overextended there well beyond humanitarian and economic logic. Bloated contracts for Xe (aka Blackwater) Northrup Grumman - drones, et al, some for peeling potatoes, and KP, at gold unit prices.

Karzai has no incentive when he sees it being perfected by masters. Which in turn mocks our efforts and justifies the Taliban. They know that neither is to be trusted.

We would be light-yrs ahead were we to pull out militarily and send in $10+ billion flood relief assistance. Cheaper long run with considerably more goodwill return in hearts and minds than another 10 yrs of military idiocy - and Holbrooke-type diplomacy.

Holbrooke winks and nods and adds to the problem with an official approval from the ranking bureaucrat - further fortified with Hillary's lack of condemnation as well.

Robert Gates recently added to the malodorous aura with laughingly corralling the military "mentors" to $86/hr and humongous retirements.

And we have the gall to piss and moan about Karzai.

REMant  08/13/2010 11:21 AM Report

I know they have a plan for Afghanistan. I'm just not sure it is one that will work as planned. Afghanistan will certainly take more of a commitment than I have ever felt we would make, or can afford to make. I would certainly discount the idea that American involvement has anything to do with Iran. There is a history, of course, of Chinese and India involvement in this area's internecine squabbles, but if the regional powers are seriously concerned about the jihadists, then I think the time has come for fewer accusations and something more positive, and our govt should welcome it with open arms. The floods could provide the opportunity. It may be that floods don't have the cachet of earthquakes and tsunamis, but I think the response to this point probably has a lot do with the fact that it is Pakistan. There has been no rush of media there I'm aware of, only those stationed there, the BBC's ubiquitous Orla Guerin and the Al Jazeera crew, nor any presidential proclamations, despite the UN's call for help. But if someone asked me what this might be worth to American efforts in this area I'd have to say it must run into the billions.

Regarding corruption, it may come as a surprise to many Americans, that good government is and always has been about of the provision of justice, not largess. It only really works when ppl trust it to be just, and that is the source of power. Anyone reading the Bible knows the judges preceded the kings of Israel. Parliaments and legislatures were originally courts, still called that in Massachusetts. The American Revolution really started when the British government indicated that it was willing to tamper with judges in Boston. The principle is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence in the part about government being instituted by the consent of the governed for the purpose of securing their rights, and made doubly clear in that more than half of the charges against the British regarded legal caprice. The Constitution was adopted primarily to settle quarrels among the states, and it is no accident Supreme Ct justices alone serve for life. We've recently seen an example of all this when the ppl of Pakistan backed its court against the president and army. Sadly I strongly suspect that many in Afghanistan think the Taliban the more just.