Afghanistan Remains a Question Mark Even as First Lady Laura Bush Visits
First lady Laura Bush has had few critics during her nearly eight years in the White House. She has handled her duties with grace and charm despite her husband's nose dive in the polls.
However, the president and his advisers decided to use her as a symbol of progress and to whip up more support for war-torn Afghanistan. Over the weekend, Mrs. Bush made a surprise visit to the country, her third time there.
The problem was that while some advances had been made in the past six years, the Associated Press reported enduring signs of violence and destruction during her short stay there.
After 9/11, the president had the nation behind him when he declared in New York City: "The people who did this will be hearing from us soon." The need for retaliation was clear.
After driving the Taliban leaders out of the country at least temporarily, Bush could not wait to attack Iraq. Former aides documented that he was itching to go to war despite warnings from intelligence sources that the job was not complete in Afghanistan.
By most accounts, the country is still in turmoil. President Karzai has apparently lost the confidence of many of his constituents. Poppies are the main cash crop, and destruction of poppy fields has helped a resurging Taliban win over poor and angry farmers.
The administration has pleaded with our friends and allies to help revitalize the country. But the pace has been slow.
Laura Bush's visit served as a reminder that the progress has been limited. And it was another reminder that we have not caught or killed Osama bin Laden, the main architect of 9/11, despite the manpower and the many millions of dollars spent in the effort.
With only a few months left in Bush's second term, the outlook in Afghanistan is still a major question mark.
Tags: Afghanistan | George W. Bush | Laura Bush
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Afghanistan
How ironic. My understanding is that, under Taliban rule, opium production was significantly curtailed and in some areas completely eliminated. Most importantly, this was accomplished without a widespread uprising in protest. Now, I don't support returning the Taliban to power in Afghanistan. However, I do support careful consideration of what they did (and perhaps did not do) that enabled them to so successfully confront the opium challenge there. To date, I have not heard of any real effort to do that. I submit that it is time to begin.
D.S. Arthur
La Mesa, CA
First Lady
We should all be greatful that the First lady was able to duck and cover in the midst of hostile enemy fire and make it out alive...
Right now she is accumulating experience to run for the presidential office in 2012 or she may possibly be angling for McCain's veep spot.
She has visited Afghanistan three times? That is more than the current presumptive Democrat nominee (Obama) has made to Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
My Marine is There
SO, LAURA BUSH WENT TO AFGHANISTAN FOR PHOTO OPS FOR GEORGE AND WHOOPS... LAID BARE THE FACTS, OR AT LEAST SCRATCHED THE SURFACE. GOOD!!! MY MARINE IS ONE OF THE 3200 DEPLOYED THIS PAST MARCH, IN AFGHANISTAN. IT'S USUALLY VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND ANY NEWS FROM THERE ON T.V. EVERYONE IS SO EMBROILED IN TALK ABOUT IRAQ, THAT GOD FORBID WE SHOULD EVEN REMEMBER WHAT OUR ORIGINAL GOAL WAS! THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET! IT TOOK AWHILE TO FIND GOOD SOURCES OF INFO, BUT NOW, I DO KNOW BY READING EVERYTHING I CAN FIND ONLINE, HOW IT REALLY IS IN AFGHANISTAN. THERE IS A VERY HUGE TROOP SHORTAGE OVER THERE AND THEY NEED TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE TROOPS ON THE GROUND THAN WHAT THEY HAVE. THIS IS, OUR FIGHT, AFTER ALL... OUR ONLY JUST FIGHT. MEN AND WOMEN DO GET KILLED, INJURIED AND MAIMED OVER THERE, YET WE HEAR NOTHING AND BUSH DOES NOTHING; DOESN'T EVEN MENTION IT.
THIS MAKES ME WORRY ABOUT MY MARINE'S AND ALL THE TROOP'S SAFETY ALL THE MORE, BUT MY ONE, CONSTANT THOUGHT IS THIS: MY MARINE AND ALL THE REST OF THE TROOPS THAT ARE THERE, WOULD NOT EVEN HAVE TO BE THERE RIGHT NOW, IF BUSH HAD NOT DROPPED THE BALL AND INVADED IRAQ. IT'S NOT A COMFORTING THOUGHT, BUT ONE I MUST LIVE WITH, EVERY DAY, ALONG WITH THE FEAR, EVERY DAY. I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW MY MARINE DOES IT, BUT YET HOPE THAT HE CAN CONTINUE TO LIVE WITH WHATEVER THOUGHTS HE MUST HAVE RIGHT NOW; SO HE CAN COME HOME. THEN, I PRAY HE CAN LOSE THOSE THOUGHTS AND BE THE PERSON HE WAS, BEFORE HE LEFT.
90% OF OUR TROOPS ARE IN IRAQ. 10% ARE IN AFGHANISTAN. WE NOW KNOW THE FACTS, THE LIES, THE OMISSIONS AND ALL THE COOKED UP INTELLIGENCE ABOUT THE INVASION OF IRAQ. WE CAN SEE THROUGH THE CONTINUOUS SHAM THAT'S BEEN GOING ON SINCE 2003. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GO AFTER AND GET JUSTICE??? THIS NOT DOING ANYTHING HAS SET A TERRIBLE PRECEDENT AT A HORRIBLE COST AND THE PRICE CONTINUES TO RISE, AS WE ALL WAIT FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS..... THE COST OF THIS INJUSTICE NOT ONLY HAPPENS IN IRAQ, BUT AFGHANISTAN AS WELL...
WHAT A WASTE OF HUMAN LIVES; BOTH OUR TROOPS AND THE THOUSANDS OF INNOCENTS WHO ARE CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE. I HAVE ONE MORE THOUGHT: THINK OF THE THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, WHO ARE NOT EXTREMESTS, FOR THEY FAR OUTNUMBER THE TERRORISTS... AND PLEASE, ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE AS MANY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE KORAN AS THERE ARE OF THE BIBLE. MOST MUSLIMS ARE MORE LIKE US THAN SOME THINK. THEY LOVE AMERICANS AND WANT WHAT WE HAVE, OR AT LEAST THEY USED TO WANT IT. THEY BELIEVE IN ONE GOD AND REVERE JESUS CHRIST. PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM AS WELL. THANKS AND GOD BLESS.....
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John W. Mashek covered politics in Washington for four decades with U.S. News & World Report, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Boston Globe. His primary beats were Congress, the White House, and national politics. He covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996. He was a panelist in three televised presidential debates in 1984, 1988, and 1992.