AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan, as I've said before, is largely rubble. There is nothing there but poppy fields. There are no natural resources. The populace is illiterate beyond belief. So why has it become so important? Because Bin-Laden had training camps there, and the 9-11 attacks were launched from there. So Bush attacked, Bin-Laden slipped away, and then we invaded Iraq.
In doing so, it is suggested that Bush took his eye off the ball. Maybe. I think we all would have wanted Bin-Laden killed a long time ago.
But we invaded Iraq, it went badly, there was a Sunni Awakening, then a troop surge, a series of free elections, and finally some hope that a secular democracy can endure there. This is all to the good.
Then the U.S. had an election. All the Democrats ran as the Anti-Bush, and Obama was the anti-est of them all. He promoted the "eye-off-the-ball" argument, called Iraq a war of choice and Afghanistan a war of necessity. Now we have a surge going on there.
I am very much opposed to this war in Afghanistan. I don't know what we are trying to achieve. To prevent the country from becoming again a "safe haven" for terrorists? Aren't there many places in the world that fit this description?
Far better at this point to protect the progress made in Iraq, support stability in Pakistan, and put an end to Iran's nuclear program.