By Steve Hynd
As if it wasn't already obvious enough, it must have occured to even the folks in the White House by now that events over the past month or so in the Middle East have shown up the Afghanistan occupation for the sideshow it truly is.
We've seen demonstrations and revolts across all of North Africa in search of freedom and democracy, with nary an Al Qaeda jihadi in sight. For years to come, the aftermath of these past weeks is likely to be the West's primary foreign policy focus, presenting a massive opportunity for progress in human rights and economic growth for the region which would benefit the whole world.
But that opportunity could well be squandered if we keep on wasting - yes, wasting - thousands of lives and up to $100 billion a year on bombing wood collecting kids in Afghanistan while encouraging neighbour Pakistan to be a two-faced ally at the cost of more billions.
(It could also be squandered if the US and its allies give in to the neoliberal/neoconseravtive love for military intervention at the drop of a hat. The West invading or bombing yet another Muslim nation, with inevitable civilian casulaties, is Bin Laden's wet dream.)
That Afghanistan is now obviously marginal to Western security interests is so obvious even the Financial Times is calling for the insanity to end. And when you've lost the Financial Times...
Still, the US and its allies continue to plan for an "enduring presence" in Afghanistan with at least 30,000 troops, on permanent military bases, occupying that nation well beyond any spurious "withdrawal" in 2014. Anti-occupation logic has won the argument and events have overtaken any rational reason for remaining, but remain we will. "Our politicians keep the troops there because they are too cowardly to admit their terrible mistake and bring them home."
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