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Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
There are those who object to the war in Iraq, but who continue to support our military efforts in Afghanistan. There is now an ongoing effort to move troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. We and NATO currently have 62,000 troops in Afghanistan, 32,000 American and 30,000 coalition.
The Afghan war, which was approved by the United Nations, is going badly. The Taliban is using Pakistan as its base from which to attack American and NATO troops in Afghanistan. When our troops strike back with airpower, either in Afghanistan or Pakistan, they often kill innocent civilians living with the Taliban and we are denounced by the Afghanistan government which depends on American troops to survive, and the Pakistani government.
One recent American offensive, according to The New York Times on October 17th, "shook the already strained relationship between the Bush administration and the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai. American officials have criticized the Karzai government for what they say is its incompetence and corruption. Mr. Karzai has struck back with demands that American commanders rein in their air-strikes, saying that civilian casualties have undermined popular support for the war effort. After the Azizabad strike, President Bush called Mr. Karzai to express his regrets."
Azizabad is in an area where, according to The Times, "Taliban forces have been battling NATO forces." Guerrillas make it their business to infiltrate civilian areas to provoke civilian casualties caused by the coalition and American forces, while fighting to fend off the Taliban and the forces of al-Qaida led by bin-Laden. President Karzai apparently does not inspire his own people. His brother is rumored to be a drug lord in charge of the poppy fields of Afghanistan. The Times in an editorial of October 15th, reported that his brother "may be involved in the heroin trade that is pouring $100 million annually into the Taliban's coffers."
We are not capable of responding to Taliban war crimes. The Times reported on October 20th, "Taliban insurgents pulled some 50 passengers off a bus in southern Afghanistan and beheaded as many as 30 of them after accusing them of being soldiers traveling in civilian clothes, Afghan officials in the region announced on Sunday. The police chief of Kandahar Province, where the attack occurred on Thursday, said that of six bodies retrieved so far, all had been beheaded, mutilated and dumped. The police had received information that 24 other people had been killed but had yet to find their bodies, the police chief, Gen. Matiullah Qati, said."
If Afghan soldiers are forced to defend themselves against the Taliban, they are likely to find ways to deal with Taliban cruelty, ways which American soldiers could not and should not use. Were we simply to bomb Taliban hideouts, we would be denounced by Karzai and others around the world for killing innocent civilians as well. In the meantime, our soldiers and our allies are suffering casualties.
The Russians, then Soviets, left Afghanistan in 1989 admitting they were unable to bring it under control. Before they withdrew, they sacrificed the lives of 13,500 of their soldiers. The Russians are far more willing than others to offer up the lives of their soldiers. They lost 10 million soldiers fighting and defeating the Nazis in World War II, losing 300,000 soldiers in the taking of Berlin alone. If the Russians could not win in Afghanistan, neither can we.
We should get out now, leaving Karzai with the arms and tanks to equip Afghanis to fight for their democratic state against the Taliban.
Our NATO ally, Germany, while willing to send "another 1,000 troops" is unwilling "to deploy them in southern Afghanistan where the fighting is heaviest."
Are we the only country required to expose our soldiers to danger everywhere to protect the free world? Is there no limit to the blood we must spill of our own people and the treasure we must spend?
1 | Ehad Haam, Ra'anana, Israel, Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
Ed, US action in Afghanistan was a response to 9/11 and not an effort to "protect the free world". If Russia cannot win in Afghanistan, it does not follow that the US cannot (god help us if this kind of thinking were necessarily true). Everyone agrees that the US must get out of Afghanistan. The question is when and how. To pack up an leave in a perceived defeat, leaving US tanks and equipment for Karzai's government, to be captured by the Taliban when Karzai inevitably falls, is a recipe for a disaster that would make the current US problems look like a cake walk. I hope you get to read this.
2 | Steve, Denver, Colorado, Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
Mayor Koch, simply cut and run? You must be kidding. That would practically ensure a Taliban return to power. And what happened the last time they were in power? Afghanistan became a state-sponsored haven for global terrorism. Moreover, women were reduced to virtual slavery, while being denied health care and education, all in the name of the Taliban's demented view of religion and society. Sure, the battle is tough. But to just up and leave, as you suggest, would create a nightmare. Come on, Mayor Koch, you can do better than that!
3 | Dave, Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
Afganistan is the center of Sunni extremism. The Taliban must not be allowed to return to power. They are already committing crimes against humanity, and we shouldn't embolden them by leaving with half the job done. Have we become completely feeble-minded and weak in the western world?
4 | Lou Dimaggio, N.Y., N.Y., Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
Mayor Koch again demonstrates he is attuned to reality. Recently, the Brit's Commanding General all but conceded the impossibility of "Victory" in Afghanistan. It's over. Continued U.S. presence will only insure the needless death of more innocent women and children. Staying or adding more troops would be a fool's errand as near-catastrophic as staying in Iraq. Bring the troops home, now. There's much work to be done in America. Thanks, Ed, for setting the record straight.
5 | Manny, Chicago, Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
Mayor Koch, please let the tactics to the generals. The strategy is clear: make sure that Al-Kayda does not resurect, and the Taliban do not return to power. How exactly to do it? We should have confidence in general Petreus, he has earned it.
6 | Amarilys Pons, Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
What will MAYOR KOCH say after the next Afghanistan based mass terror attack on New York City ? "Sorry, I made a mistake !" We do not have room to make a mistake on this. 9-11 costs over a trillion dollars in the hit on the US economy. It is a lot more cost effective to win the war in Afghanistan, even if we have to occupy that country for 40 years (as in Japan and Germany). By the way, the money for the Afghan Taliban and Al Queda, comes from Saudia Arabia, the Emirates, and Egypt, along with many recruits. We are not going to win in Afghanistan without changing Egypt, Saudi, and the emirates
7 | Maury L NYC, Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
Koch makes sense when he says we should get out of Afghanistan and leave Karzai with the means of getting out of the mess. It is very hard to fight a highly organized ad-hoc militancy in a mostly hostile indigenous population whose sympathies are mostly with our enemies. It is amazing that we are doing as well as we are, given that no outsider has been able to conquer Afghanistan. If ousted from Afghanistan, the Taliban would move across the border into Pakistan where the Pakistan SIS protects it.
8 | bill greenberg, Leavenworth, KS, Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
Mr Koch is absolutely wrong. The enemy that Mr Koch would like us to run away from attacked our country, and will do it again if given a haven to work out of. AQ and the Taliban attacked our country, not the other way around. Further I understand that Mr Koch is a politician and not trained in military affairs, but he needs to understand that most successful counterinsurgency campaigns take 9-13 years to complete. He needs to show some patience and let the campaign be conducted.
9 | Hank H USA, Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
The mistake was in helping Afghanis (and Talibans) fight Russia in the first place. We USA should have let Russia have that headache. Russia lost becasuse we helped Afghans with arms and money ...thank Mr Wilson for that). Can we imagine Russia in charge of the Afghans and getting shot at everyday..every minute! I agree...get out of Afgan and still go after Osama Bin Drek. Send in special forces...bomb every cave in both Afghan and Pakistan! Lets get out of Iraq too...let em kill each other! Defeat my tuchas...the world gets over everything!
10 | Tod Zuckerman , San Francisco, Thursday Oct 23, 2008
Mayor Koch is becoming hard to understand . First, his perplexing - though decidedly unenthusiastic endorsement of Obama - and now his strange advocacy of cut and run in Afganistan. Man, Mayor Koch, what do you think will happen - Al Quaida will re-establish hegemony over an entire country, instead of hiding in caves.
11 | Julie CA, Thursday Oct 23, 2008
I think our focus needs to be on Saudi Arabia and making sure they don't fund anymore terrorist schools. Afganistan doesn't have the basic blocks needed to become a democracy anytime soon. Nothing in that part of the world can be implemented in a short time frame of even 10 years. It is time to pack up and go home. If we stay and continue to iritate Pakistan we will be in more deeper water. There will always be extremist in that part of the world that hate America. We need to focus on Saudi Arabia the big supplier of funds and on ways we can lower that hatred of the West. Diplomacy is cheaper.
12 | Aaron, Thursday Oct 23, 2008
Well put Mr. Mayor. We should pull out of Afghanistan to focus on Iraq. But that's exactly the opposite of what Barak Obama is saying he wants to do. So why is it that you support Obama for president?
13 | JKF/Ottawa, Thursday Oct 23, 2008
Ed- I see your point; but the situation can not be simplified. it is quite likekly that the allies will loose the war on terror in Afghanistan, unless they apply at least a six fold increase in fielded forces ~ 200,000. The alternative is to use larger munitions and cause more damage in the process of destroying the terrorists and their supporters. A loss of Afghanistan will lead to the loss of Pakistan. Pakistan is already in a very difficult situation. A failure in Afghanistan and Pakistan will lead to a shift of terrorist forces to Kashimir and a potential nuclear confrontation with India.
14 | Leo - Indiana, U.S., Thursday Oct 23, 2008
To use the word 'victory' in a guerilla war is a stretch. The U.S. efforts there need to be aimed at insuring the Taliban remain as weak as possible while gaining as much intelligence on bin Laden and others who would attack the U.S. and our interests overseas.
The U.S. left Afghanistan shortly after the Soviets did, leaving a vacuum that the Taliban took advantage of. Though there is a stronger Afghan government in place than was true when the Taliban started grabbing power, it is by no means strong enough to control their nation.
Leaving now means probably having to go back later.
15 | Craig, Australia, Thursday Oct 23, 2008
It's astounding that Lou Dimaggio, an inhabitant of New York, is so flippant about abandoning Afghanistan. I happened to watch 9/11 on television in Australia, which graphically demonstrated what happens when you ignore threats like Al Qaeda. The Taliban, Al Qaeda, Hamas and countless other Islamic supremacists ranging from the Middle East to South-East Asia have all made their totalitarian ambitions clear. They have stated that no other religion has legitimacy. Global conquest and the dissolution of all other religions/cultures are their ultimate goal. The only options are to fight or die.
16 | Shimon, USA, Thursday Oct 23, 2008
Why do I think the Mayor is pulling a fast one, calling for our withdrawl from Afghanistan is a ploy, for his real aim of getting out of Iraq immediately. There's no way we are leaving Afghanistan, even his adored Obama doesn't want to abandon Afghanistan, so there has to be a hidden agenda. Otherwise Dear Mayor, why not publish this in the New York Times. No, I think you wanted to run it up the flagpole to see what kind of reaction you would get.....Not a good one.
17 | George Albert, Thursday Oct 23, 2008
The mayor clearly is now off his bearings. He is supporting the Jew endagering and PLO supporting Obama; he is now saying that we should leave Afghanistan in a vacuum like we did in the 1980's. If the Afghan gov could defeat the Taliban it would have happened before we got there.
I think the mayor needs some rest. Bring back the old Ed Koch that defended liberty and would never have supported an appeaser like Barak Hussein Obama.
18 | Lars, Thursday Oct 23, 2008
The US must leave Afghanistan: I should have known, just another weak belly political hack, who is ready to raise the White Flag, everytime it gets tough or some bumps show up in the road. Same deal, you gutless wonders pulled in Vietnam. Do all of us a favor, Koch, why don't you just use some of your intelligence and go to Afghanistan and talk with the terrorists. Maybe you can get them to stop killing innocent women and children in food markets. MAybe if you tell them America is weak and runs away, they will be happy. Pathic Koch, pathic.
19 | Frank Molnar, Carmel, IN USA, Saturday Oct 25, 2008
Mr. Koch is exactly right! He does not suggest that the US cut and run but that we face facts: we can not win with current strategy and Afghan government in place? Only the brain-dead would answer assess our predicament otherwise. We already know that we will not take the necessary steps to WIN: we have no credible winning or exit strategies. The mistake was to get in without a firm resolve
to win. We are doing in Iraq now what we should have done in Afghanistan from the start. Now it's too late. Which brings me back to the beginning: Mr. Koch is exactly right. Get the hell out!!!
20 | fritzilou, Saturday Oct 25, 2008
I truly think Ed Koch has lost his marbles. Didn't he read today that Pakistan has taken a main junction road the feeds three Taliban/Al Aqaeda cities into Afghanistan? I guess not. It seems to me that Pakistan is working with us now and he throws a wrench into the mix. Alas! He wants to throw all our work away and only have to do it again another day.
21 | jason white, afula,israel, Sunday Oct 26, 2008
Thanks for the advice,Edwina. Now you are a military expert. You have to look to the New York Slimes?
Incase you did not notice,the N.Y.T. prints the news as it sees fit.
22 | baboggs@gmail,com, Sunday Oct 26, 2008
There is some problem with U.S. wars. No matter how many military we train in a foreign country (Iraq, Afghanistan) to defend and protect their own country, this never works. It has not, will not work in Iraq and it will not work in Afghanistan. The only way these countries can be held is for the US to stay in these countries for ever. I don't know the answer, I don't suppose anyone does. It didn't work in Vietnam ( our presence made no difference there) and probably would not have in Korea, if we had not stayed. I think one problem might be that we are so unpopular, world wide.
23 | Scott, Sunday Oct 26, 2008
Craig,you are lucky to live on an island....
24 | Christopher Richard Wade Dettling CANADA, Monday Oct 27, 2008
You're right Mr Koch--it's an ugly scene. However, the Western world is learning valuable military lessons in Afghanistan which are very useful, and which are different from the Soviet doctrine. Certainly the war will be won by Afghans, but they require Western technological support and a strong logistical backbone--so eventually Westerners will have a smaller offensive role in the region. It's our new sphere of influence, and we will prevail: Because our political and economic future depends upon the extermination of global terrorism.
25 | POONAM,INDIA, Tuesday Dec 02, 2008
WE INDIANS ARE FEELING THE HEAT OF TALIBAN TYPE HATE.IF THSES ARE NOT CONTAINED , THE FATE OF INDIA WILL BE DOOMED. THERE ARE INCOMPETENT LEADERS ,WHO WILL NOT TAKE ANY FIRM ACTION. EVEN THEY DONOT UTTER A WORD AGAINST TERRORISTS AND MUSLIM NATIONS
DUE TO FEAR OF LOOSING MUSLIM VOTES.
MUSLIM COMMUNITY IS NOT ENOUGH VOCAL TO RAISE THEIR VOICE, AS THEY DONOT GET SUPPORTS FROM SO CALLED MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES.
WE HOPE USA WILL NOT MOVEOUT FROM THIS AREA WITHOUT FINISHING TERROR
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New York's legendary Jewish former mayor Ed Koch scopes out the scene in the US.
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Recent Comments
Ginger C. Nevada: In the state of Oregon all gasoline stations are required to pump their customers gasoline. Oregon residents as well as people passing through Oregon are presented with and required to allow this attendant to pump their gas. It created many jobs for Oregon residents. I believe If we made this a United States wide requirement It would help the economy. Just imagine, if every gas station is required to have 1 attendant on staff during business hours for every 4-6 pumps. Now think how many jobs could be available If this gas pumping requirement was enforced.
Michael J Katz: You are precisely on the mark ( as usual ). TARP is providing funds to the banks, but the banks are hiding the funds in their " mattress" ie reserves. The damage is from lending shutting down, not depleted reserves. It is axiomatic that a program to reinvigorate the banks had to be coupled with a program to lend and to turn the money around to creditworthy borrowers. TARP is looking more like a program to guarantee year-end bonuses to chieftains of failed banking enterprises.
el elx: Ed, could you please give us the name of that pathetic little girl so worried about Daddy's job that she cries all the way to school? Does she live on the Upper West Side in Manhattan in a $7M home, or in Spanish Harlem? Do you trust her daddy to tell you such a story or are you creating straw babies?
You've become a shameless shill, Ed, from being a respected voice. I think you should blame George Bush for that as you have for everything else in your so-called life.
Goodbye Ed; go; fade away to Miami Beach! Nothing will so become New York as your fond farewell!
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