Taliban's gonna win Ya'll...

[PoS]

The triumph of liberal democracies: oh how wrong you were, Dr. Fukuyama...

[eynon81]

[The Dharma Bum]

I don't think that is an accurate read of the political attitude prevalent in the ME. I think the worker over there is probably more socially conscious than the average American is.

There's a reason a lot of that rioting etc happens on May Day. And consider the fact that Syria, our next target, is a secular, socialist state under attack from reactionary elements directed and funded from Saudi Arabia, and ultimately us.

There are other things going on there too, of course, but that basic template of this upcoming conflict is strangely absent from western media portrayals.

[Kane]

[Indy]

Sorry I'm so late to this but I'm in a new career now with unfortunately severely reduced PCF time.

The question you ask is one I was asking years ago, even as far back as 2006, when you heard the first rumblings that Afghanistan was not all it was we were being told.

We were probably f***ed from the outset in trying to nation-build that place, but we CERTAINLY were when we dropped it to go off and f*** up all over again in Iraq.

The fact that we keep losing lives and treasure there is inexcusable. Why does it continue?

First and foremost: cowardice. On the part of our politicians, who don't want to be the ones to acknowledge reality and then get blamed for snatching "defeat from the jaws of victory." Politicians no longer view issues as problems to be solved but rather instruments to be manipulated against them in elections--not unlike the equally dismal War on Drugs, which has been about as successful.

The second answer is: let's be real, people don't give a shit. Oh you do when it's your son/brother/dad/mom/sister/cousin, but I can assure you that most Americans unless it affects them directly, don't care how many we're losing for nothing. Sure, we stand up at the baseball game and give shout-outs to the troops during halftime at the Super Bowl but in the end most people haven't lifted a finger to get them the hell out of there, and if they get killed well this is just another reason for you to take off your hat during the National Anthem and pretend you care.

Sorry, but that's true.

Lastly, plutocrats--i.e., the ones that run this country--most likely don't have sons and daughters over there dying so of course they aren't going to pressure the gov't they control to do anything. In fact, many of them probably have a considerable financial investment in this thing going on endlessly. Somebody's getting rich on this, as they usually are when something makes no sense yet continues.

[eynon81]

[The Dharma Bum]

[The Dharma Bum]

[Spider]

[The Dharma Bum]

Homosexuals do not have full human rights in the US and are regularly subjected to abuse. We are not a thousands time better, we are little better in that specific regard and we more than make up for it with our reckless disregard for human life in other regards, like indiscriminate bombing or targeted assassination.