Deja Vu In Afghanistan

Day after day we are seeing more and more people dying in Afghanistan. The latest bombing claiming at least 18 people. While the tactics might be slightly different then those used against the Soviet Union, we knew how the enemy would act in Afghanistan since we trained a lot of them in the 80's. But yet we take all but 20,000 troops and move them into Iraq. We allow the Taliban and Al Qaida to blend back in. And now things are falling apart.

Now we have a situation that parallels Iraq. But what is more troublesome is we now see comparisons from the very people who left Afghanistan almost 20 years ago with their tail between their legs to the current mission in Afghanistan.

[General Boris Gromov] overall commander of Soviet forces in Afghanistan who supervised their withdrawal in 1989, said that Britain, America and their Nato allies appeared to be suffering the same backlash. Whatever their disagreements, said Gen Gromov, Afghans tended to unite against outsiders when they deemed them no longer welcome. "The Afghan resistance is, in my opinion, growing," he said. It is conditioned by centuries of tradition, geography, climate and religion.

[General Rusian Aushev] "Many have fought in Afghanistan; first and foremost, the British fought there in the 19th century. The astonishing thing today is that Nato and the coalition seem to have learnt nothing, neither from their own experience nor from our experience."

And yet this morning we see Bush angrily lecturing us again on how to be safe. And then he has the gall to blast someone leaking "classified information for political gain." As if the problem with Iraq and Afghanistan is the NIE and not the failed leadership in the White House and the Pentagon.

For all the talk about Democrats not having a plan, which they do if you can get past the 'cut-n-run' nonsense, what exactly is the plan of the Republicans? Eventually those billions will add up to 'real' money!