Tuesday, August 17, 2010

What Kind Of Progess Is Being Made In Afghanistan, Rep. Carson?

U.S. Rep. Andre Carson gloated to the Indianapolis Star this past week about his recent trip to Afghanistan and his personal meeting with Gen. David Petraeus, the leader of U.S. efforts there, during his trip. "Carson said his visit encouraged him about the progress being made, the Star reported. "I think we will see a number of troops leave the region next year," he said. "How many is still unclear." The Star added, "He spent the night in a hooch, described as a mini, mini-trailer." "A sign on the door warned occupants to dive under the bed in case of a rocket attack."

I guess progress is in the eye of the beholder. This past Sunday, a young Afghan couple were stoned death for falling in love with each other and defying their parents dictates about who they could marry. Because the woman had been told to marry another man and refused, she and the man she loved violated a fundamental tenet of Sharia law. Councils made up of Islamic clerics are afforded considerable power to decide punishment in such cases. Stonings, amputations and lashing are common punishments meted out for violating Sharia law.

Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley discussed on his blog the untenable position the U.S. government under President Barack Hussein Obama's leadership and Afghanistan's elected government is taking in accepting a role in governing for the Taliban, the religious fanatics who harbored Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist followers and suppressed the rights of women and minorites when they were in power, who we supposedly went to war against a decade ago and, in so doing, sacrificed countless numbers of American soldiers lives. Turley writes:

It seems that we are just trying to secure some semblance of peace to offer political cover for a pullout. So, with thousands of dead and wounded in our ranks, we could be declaring victory by leaving a country in at least partial Taliban control, where the most basic rights and protections to women and religious minorities are savagely denied. If we are just waiting for politically plausible moment to declare some pyrrhic victory, our continued sacrifice of lives and treasure in that country is grossly immoral. I have long been a critic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, though I believe that the invasion of Afghanistan was justified in light of their protection of Osama Bin Laden. However, remaining in that country to try to build a new nation was folly in my view in light of the hundreds of years of strife and the extreme form of Islam followed by many residents. I am particularly disturbed by our soldiers fighting to protect officials who are opposed to the most basic rights of women. It is a bizarre scene to have our female soldiers dying so that government-supported clerics can continue to impose Shariah-based restrictions on their ability to be educated or even marry.
Turley hits the nail on the head. We have accomplished absolutely nothing after ten years of fighting this costly war. We never caputred bin Laden, and the Taliban are still a force of influence in the country. For Rep. Carson to call this progress is either a reflection of his ignorance of what is actually taking place in Afghanistan or his approval of the Islamic tradition of treating women and non-Muslims as second class citizens and imposing barbaric medieval punishments against those who fail to subscribe to the dictates of Islamic law.

Sadly, things aren't much better in Iraq. Last year, Muslim fanatics rounded up hundreds of gays and tortured and executed them because of Islam's harsh view towards homosexuality. Honor killings commonly take place in Iraq despite the massive presence of U.S. troops there.

10 comments:

Downtown Indy said...

Leave it to a member of the House Committee on Financial Services to find a way to squander our finances.

Marycatherine Barton said...

Osama has been long dead and buried, and many a doctored and video of him has been made since. Ask the FBI why it has not issued an arrest warrant for him re 9/11.

Sending the military to look for monstrous men in other people's countries has been doing them and us no good, and it is this very use of government that our founding fathers meant for us to avoid. Besides, we have PLENTY of them right here.

When you get a chance, please watch and listen to the interview on the Alex Jones Show, of yesterday, for some info you might not have considered. I appreciate you and all your readers trying to keep an open mind, AI.

Indy4U2C said...

This just supports the fact that Carson is Indiana's own: "Fool on Capitol Hill!"

Marycatherine Barton said...

I hope that Andre Carson takes a look at the intelligently well-put-together video documentary at you-tube, entitled "Al Queda Does't Exist" and invite discussion.

indyernie said...

It's too bad Carson didn't take a walk in the mountain country while there...maybe he would have ran into some of his peaceful and misunderstood fellow Muslins. I wonder what they might have had to said to Andre...

M Theory said...

I wonder if Andre Carson believes that Sharia law should be respected and enforced in America. Someone should ask him that question publicly.

I'm sure he loves the idea of the ground zero Mosque.

indyernie said...

Andre Carson's motives are so transparent. If it weren’t for this being an election year Andre wouldn't get anywhere near our armed forces. Andre visiting troops is a direct insult for any serviceman or veteran.
Andre Carson is nothing more than a punk in a suit.

Hoosier in the Heartland said...

Who launched the war on Afghanistan, then didn't finish it?

Who launched the war on Iraq for no darn good reason?

Weren't Rep. Carson, folks.

Both incursions were George W. Bush decisions.

dcrutch said...

I didn't vote for George W. Bush. However, I think the news flash is:
1) Bush has been out of office for over a year and a half.
2) When does President Obama get blame as well as credit? I don't thing there's much credit to take for the current economy, but he went looking for it in Ohio this weekend. Doesn't he also get some blame for our Middle East status?
2) President Obama took several months to deliberate and decided we should stay in Afghanistan. Does he get come blame or credit for that?
3) I definitely give him credit for trying to get us out of Iraq.

Marycatherine Barton said...

I appreciate the Honorable Ron Paul going on the record and saying that he had nothing against the religion of Islam.

Today, former Italian President Francesco Cossiga died. In 2007, he wrote:

"All of the democratic circles of America and of Europe, especially those of the Italian centre-left NOW know well that the disastrous attack was planned and realized by the American CIA and Mossad with the help of the Zionist world in order to place the blame on Arabic Countries and to persuade the Western powers to intervene in Iraq and Afghanistan". I AGREE with him and them.