If you live long
enough, you’re liable to see anything. Today, we saw Sen. John McCain (R - AZ),
who for the past 11 years has been the gold standard of hawkishness on the
Afghan occupation, a tireless support of escalation upon escalation, finally
raise the prospect of leaving.
“I think all
options ought to be considered, including whether we have to just withdraw
early, rather than have a continued bloodletting that won’t succeed,” McCain
said in surprise comments on Wednesday Sep. 19.
McCain’s
comments reflect a growing weariness of the occupation, particularly as the
growing number of green-on-blue attacks force the U.S. to halt the training
missions that for the past decade were supposed to be the ticket to
victory.
Despite McCain’s
shift, both President Barack Obama and his opponent in November, Mitt Romney,
remain roughly identical in their positions on Afghanistan, which is to stay the
course. antiwar.com
On October 7,
2001, former President George W. Bush announced the beginning of the war on
Afghanistan. It has now become the longest-running war in U.S. history, and
there is no end in sight. The Taliban remains in control of major parts of the
nation. Peace talks have collapsed. Civilian and troop casualties continue to
mount. Democracy Now According to
icasualties.org, the total number of U.S. military fatalities in Afghanistan
stands at 2121 since the start of the U.S.-led invasion of the country in
2001. According to
costofwar.com, taxpayers in the United States have incurred nearly $570 billion
as a result of the invasion of Afghanistan. According to
Reuters, between 2001 and 2011, U.S military had spent $2.3 trillion to $2.7
trillion on Afghanistan war.
ISH/ARA
- Latest News
- Top Hits