I guess if  I am going to understand what is going on with President Obama decision  to send more troops to Afghanistan I need to find out where Afghanistan is located. This Islamic country which is 99 percent Muslin can be found on the world map in Southwest Central Asia. It is surround by Iran and Pakistan, and China. It is a land locked country with no sea port. The name of the country can be translated "the land of allied tribes" It is made up of many different ethic groups with up to 40 known languages. Most of the people speak or understand a Persian language known as Dari. It has harsh winters and hot summer and lack of water is a major concern. Less than 13% of the populous have access to clean water. Normally the earthquakes are minor but one in 1998 killed 4000 people. It is rich in mineral, semi-precious stones and emeralds, has oil and gas deposits. But many of its resources are not developed .

Some U.S. companies have billion dollar contract to build roads , power line and water supply systems. Not to mention all the billions  being made on the war by 240,000 civilian war contractors. Like Brown and Root and Halliburton. I read that one of these companies got a 80 million dollar bonus for shoddy electric work that resulted in the death of 12 soldiers. Good news is that the Afghanistan are expected to earn 1 to 2 billion dollars a year for the next years on copper deposits.  That should help if it is not stolen before it gets to help the nation solve it poverty.

That started about 1747 and it current capitol is the city of Kabul. A  history  of British and Russia involvement is well known  . In 1919 it declare independence from the United Kingdom. Its history is one of internal conflict among the various clans and ethnic groups. The people are said to be believer in personal honor, clan loyalty and ready to fight at the drop of a hat. Feuding seems to their national hobby. As late as 1994, over 10,000 people were killed in a fight between tribes in their capital Kabul 

We stuck our nose into Afghanistan  business in 1978-9
in an effort to weaken the Soviet Union. control of the area.
We also got involved because of a pipe line for gas and oil
that Unocal wanted to build across this country.
 The part that would go through Afghanistan would go from there
to Pakistan  to the Indian Ocean. and we had an  interest in the oil rich Persian Gulf.
The Russian invaded Afghanistan by paratroopers in December 1979.
They said they were invited by the legal government which was by that time Communist.
The county of Afghanistan was in the midst of a civil war. On one side was a leader
who wanted more of a western way of doing things and rejected religion and the
Muslin people who formed a guerilla force for a holy war for Allah.
Russia was said to have used napalm, poison gas and helicopter gun ships
but could not handle the mountains passes in tanks or the religious driven patriots.
It was a very bad time for the people and it was Russia’s Viet Nam
Eventually they pulled out because the cost and the lost of men.
It is said that up to 2 million people were killed during this occupation which ended in 1989.
After the Russian left it is said that the west lost interest in Afghanistan
or that is what the people there thought.
  As many as 5 million Afghanistan left their country during this time.
When Russia withdrew their financial  support the Afghanistan government collapsed in 1992

The Taliban arrived on the scene in 1996
and by 2000 they controlled 95 % of the country
They were extremely controlling and ruled with a iron fist. 
It was even more bad news for the women who lost ,what ever women rights
had gained in the previous 20 years. They were banned from from education , sports, nail polish and jobs. The Taliban  eradicated those that didn’t support them and dealt with law breakers by cutting off hands and feet. They shut down Television and most radio programs . I thought I had found  something good to say about them when I read about their stopping all  poppy  raising and getting completely rid of the Opium trade. However it may only have been for a while to drive up the price of the opium
as they are still peddling growing and peddling dope in the areas they control.
No respecter of history the Taliban will be remembered that they were the ones that destroyed a famous statue of Buddha. The justified this by claiming the statues were idols. The NATO. and U.S. led invasion toppled the Taliban in 2001. However they were back in the picture by 2004 and are considered a strong insurgency. Pakistan has been a problem as they have  provided training and arms and Taliban  operates openly in the southern provinces of Afghanistan.

He is the son of a billionaire Mosque builder and he was born in Saudi Arabia in 1957.
He is said to have been married 4 times and has between 12 and 26 kids.
It was reported that at one time he received a yearly stipend of $ 7 million dollar from his wealthy family which gave him the where with to finance terrorist around the world.
He is considered the worlds most foremost terrorist and he is on the F.B.I. most wanted list.
He has been thought to be the master mind on deadly attacks on the United States from
a bombing of a military complex in Saudi Arabia in 1996 that killed 19 soldiers, to
bombing U.S. embassies in 1998. Then he also involved in the 1993 bombing of the
World Trade Center and they are certain he was behind of the Sept l l, 2001.
attack on the twin towers in New York. Apparently Osama Bin Laden and his fighters
were supplied with arms in 1994 by the United States when the Russian invade Afghanistan.
He founded Al Qaeda in 1988 . Not much is known about his current where about and rumors of his death have surfaced all around the world ever since 2001.

. Despite multi-billions of U.S. dollar of International Assistance that has been poured in to this
county since 2002, the people are very poor.
 Their average income is equal to $2.00 a day
in American dollars. and one of the least developed country.
Progress is being made in education with about 50 % of the men being literate.
They have 40 % unemployment.
Since they have a rapidly expanding population with little education , no jobs and
years of civil wars and foreign occupations occupation ; first by the Russians and now by
N.A.T.O and he United States, life in Afghanistan leaves much to be desired.
It is estimated that over 3 million people are involved growing poppies, making
drugs like opium, morphine, heroin . That mean that 1/3 of their income is from drugs.
There is a lot of money that is being made in illegal drugs around
 and I have to wonder just who get to pocket most of it.

This old lady has a question to ask.
How or why do we think that we can win a war
 in this war weary, poverty stricken, fanatical religious driven, western hating, divided out post of hell.?
The more civilian killed by international forces by bombing and the eradication of
the farmers only way to make a living by stopping the poppy fields is driving the
people into the arms of the Taliban. The 40 million members of the Pashtun tribal group
have a history of resistance to occupational forces. Only a small percent are Talibans.
It is estimated that there are less than 25,000 Taliban left. Despite all the money we have sent and spent there, we are not wanted. Our being there makes the people unite under a common banner to fight the
infidels..... (That means us )

Mr.  Obama, Sir:

Please don’t send more troops to Afghanistan.
 Unless you plan to kill all the people there. 
It is my opinion that we can not win this war.
They will fight you to their last breath.
It will escalate and spread like a wild fire probably to Pakistan.
I know this was a difficult decision for you.
I would think it is hard to stand up for peace.
with pressure from the Oil companies
the Military Industrial Complex
and all the banks that finance this destruction.
If  your destiny  to be known as the man of Peace 
don't choose this wrong road. to go down.
There is nothing in that country that is worth our boys dying for.
We have spent enough money there already
It is up to the people who live there to solve their own problems.
By all means give them a little help
 to develop their way out  of their poverty.
But lets work on solving our own problem like
 unemployment, health and people losing their homes
Joan Estelle High

Back to Sound-Off