Is it really worth it?

[Lesley]

Trying to help another nation get it's economy and politics on it's feet is not worth it in my opinion.

[intheknow]

Good question.

Was fighting Germany worth it from 1941 to 1945? They never attacked us before we declared war on them.

[Lesley]

The differences are striking. You want a list of comparisons? The US is atempting to nurture and build and economy and politicing in Afghanistan and Iraq. If the intent is to fight Al Quaida, then that is different, and they should go where AlQ is held up. i hear Pakistan in a good place. But losing our men and women in an effort to build the economy and stability of another nation seems overstepping boundaries of war and lives.

Afghanistan is not a parallel to Nazi Germany in this case. If our guys were there losing their lives in an economy building effort, I would feel exactly the same way.

[GirlMom]

If we leave Afghanistan, won't the Taliban just resume what the were doing pre-9/11 and won't Al Quaida just come back? I'm not sure what the answers are, but I fear that is exactly what would happen.

[Lesley]

The US has not declared any war with the Taliban.... that I am aware of.

[intheknow]

Originally Posted by Lesley

The differences are striking. You want a list of comparisons? The US is atempting to nurture and build and economy and politicing in Afghanistan and Iraq. If the intent is to fight Al Quaida, then that is different, and they should go where AlQ is held up. i hear Pakistan in a good place. But losing our men and women in an effort to build the economy and stability of another nation seems overstepping boundaries of war and lives.

Afghanistan is not a parallel to Nazi Germany in this case. If our guys were there losing their lives in an economy building effort, I would feel exactly the same way.

So then you think we should have left Germany immediately after the war was over? No Marshall Plan, not peace keeping, no helping Germany re-establish her economy, no feeding the million of starving Europeans after the war?

[intheknow]

Originally Posted by Lesley

The US has not declared any war with the Taliban.... that I am aware of.

So you think Obama should just completely pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan?

What about all of our other bases overseas?

[Lesley]

apparently you think it is worth the lives of brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers etc. You are entitled to your opinion, you are not entitled to belittle and bash my opinion by the use of overt, patronizing questioning and diversions. As I've tried to intimate......situations vary and reasons vary. There is not a one size fits all. My statement was about Iraq and Afghanistan. I think the US should pull out because I don't believe rebuilding these nations (that ultimately will fall back to the rules of religion as their politics) is worth the lives of any military personnel.

[intheknow]

Originally Posted by Lesley

apparently you think it is worth the lives of brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers etc. You are entitled to your opinion, you are not entitled to belittle and bash my opinion by the use of overt, patronizing questioning and diversions. As I've tried to intimate......situations vary and reasons vary. There is not a one size fits all. My statement was about Iraq and Afghanistan. I think the US should pull out because I don't believe rebuilding these nations (that ultimately will fall back to the rules of religion as their politics and the cyclical problem that) is worth the lives of any military personnel.

Hold there girl. I never said I think it is worth the lives of brothers, sisters, etc. . . I only tried comparing it to another conflict where we stayed after the war and did massive nation building. Nor did my questions here in any way belittle or bash you or your statements. They were merely questions trying to get information about how you think this might compare to the Germany nation building after WW2. Take the chip off your shoulder sweetheart.

Personally, I think we are wasting our time in Afghanistan and although what we did in Iraq could be called a success, I think in the long run it will prove that all we did was postpone the inevitable conflicts that will continue to come from tht country and its neighbors. I think we should be all in or all out of Afghanistan. We either declare total war and fight it to the end in the most deadly serious manner possible, or completely pull out. *****-footing around only gets our guys killed while the enemy gets stronger and bolder. If we are not going to fight to conquer, then pull out and let them have that pile of rubble. Then if they mess with us again, carpet bomb 'em back into the stone age . . . wait, they're already in the stone age. Well, then capret bomb 'em so bad they think the stone age is Nirvana!

Currently, we're acting just like the USSR on a whole lot of fronts.

Afghanistan is not worth an American life. The only reason we should be there is to make sure the Taliban and Al Quedda are crushed so they cannot be a threat to America. I really do not care about the Afghanis. I've been there. It's not worth fighting over.

[intheknow]

On a side note: Many American lives were lost in Germany AFTER the end of WW2 while we were doing nation-building there. Snipers and crooks and nazi hold-outs killed many Americans for years afterwards. Funny thing is, 64 years after the end of the war . . . we're still there.