[pmulcahy11b]

At the risk of becoming political on this board...

Afghanistan began right, but then Bush pulled away most of the troops to fight a war in Iraq that was designed for Cheney and Bush to make tons of money through Halliburton, the defense industry, and Blackwater, while simultaneously shoring up Bush's poll ratings.

Yep, I said it. Iraq was an opportunity for them and a few others to make money. We had no other reason to be there.

Afghanistan -- we're supposed to be there to scatter Al-Qaida to the winds. For the most part, we've done that. We're never going to build a viable, reliable allied country there, because the Afghanis aren't ready for it, let alone a democracy. It's time to leave.

And the usual cast of characters are making boatloads of money from Afghanistan. While our troops die for a cause that is unachievable.