Treena Harp wrote:
>
> This is gonna be pretty much all I have to say about this. I believe we have
> a moral obligation to do everything in our power to keep this from ever
> happening to our people again. I also think it would be to the benefit of
> the Afghans enslaved by the Taliban to bring that government to its knees
> and help the remaining people rebuild. I am actually glad my dad, a WW II
> vet, and my grandfather, a WW I vet, did not live to see this happen, as
> they knew something it seems a lot of people today can't seem to comprehend:
> the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
Well said, Treena. Worth repeating in its entirety.
I agree with you almost 100%. Two quibbles:
1) Bringing down the Taliban probably is a worthy goal in all this. But
it may not help the ordinary people of the nation a lot. From what I
have seen of the alternative force that would take over -- the armed
forces now fighting the remnants of a civil war with the Taliban -- I am
not sure they would be much better. We would most likely see another
authoritarian regime in which the rulers would thrive but the ordinary
citizen would continue in dire poverty. Helping them rebuild the
nation's economy would be good, but our agencies for doing that have
never been very effective in keeping the rulers of developing nations
from skimming all the gravy for themselves. (However almost any new
regime would probably not as hostile to women or culture.)
2) Eternal vigilance is necessary to maintain freedom, but not
sufficient. In addition, when vigilance reveals danger a readiness to
act decisively is also necessary. We have lacked that willingness in the
past, I fear.
Bob Harris
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