Peter Bergen on NPR, December 3, 2009. A well informed individual on Alqueda, the Taliban, and Afghanistan. Peter is not your usual "talking head". Let's try "hearing" a truly informed person on this subject.
Always(Over)Optimistic: I heard the interview in my car this afternoon on Terry Gross. Bergen makes his living on this. He knows a lot. But he is too immersed and too conflicted. You think there weren't smart people advising LBJ? He's not your usual talking head but he is a CNN talking head and fellow at the NAF. A strong point of view. And what he said didn't make sense. He talked as if bin Lande and al Zawahiri were all there was to al Qaeda and their ilk, which, since he was on the show hawking his book about bin Laden is understandable. But her question was perfectly logical and his answer was that that's where they live. Now. You make them move and they'll live somewhere else. Like Sudan (which bin Laden already did).
Notwithstanding Springsteen's powerful song.. there seems to be little will amongst ordinary folk to end this war.
Opinion is divided in the UK. I am not sure if it is just a sign of an apethetic public or whether the cause is indeed worth pursuing.
What I do know is that more and more soldiers are returning and surviving with injuries that would previously have been terminal. There is however a terrible toll of severely disabled - we seem to be trying to keep more of these unfortunate folk in the armed services (a laudible policy) but I do worry that if this goes on too long then there may be a long term (and tragic) legacy.
Peter Bergen on NPR, December 3, 2009. A well informed individual on Alqueda, the Taliban, and Afghanistan. Peter is not your usual "talking head". Let's try "hearing" a truly informed person on this subject.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13
Always(Over)Optimistic: I heard the interview in my car this afternoon on Terry Gross. Bergen makes his living on this. He knows a lot. But he is too immersed and too conflicted. You think there weren't smart people advising LBJ? He's not your usual talking head but he is a CNN talking head and fellow at the NAF. A strong point of view. And what he said didn't make sense. He talked as if bin Lande and al Zawahiri were all there was to al Qaeda and their ilk, which, since he was on the show hawking his book about bin Laden is understandable. But her question was perfectly logical and his answer was that that's where they live. Now. You make them move and they'll live somewhere else. Like Sudan (which bin Laden already did).
Notwithstanding Springsteen's powerful song.. there seems to be little will amongst ordinary folk to end this war.
Opinion is divided in the UK. I am not sure if it is just a sign of an apethetic public or whether the cause is indeed worth pursuing.
What I do know is that more and more soldiers are returning and surviving with injuries that would previously have been terminal. There is however a terrible toll of severely disabled - we seem to be trying to keep more of these unfortunate folk in the armed services (a laudible policy) but I do worry that if this goes on too long then there may be a long term (and tragic) legacy.