The DeKline of Afghanistan

A tape of Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda members purportedly preparing for the Sept. 11 attacks aired on the Arab television station Al Jazeera today. The tape is said to have been filmed in Afghanistan. Al Jazeera said before airing the video that it is new and shows bin Laden personally and directly supervising the planning of the attacks.

A recent report showed Afghanistan to be as dangerous as Iraq. Across Afghanistan, roadside bomb attacks are up by 30 percent; suicide bombings have doubled. Statistically it is now nearly as dangerous to serve as an American soldier in Afghanistan as it is in Iraq.

In addition, most of the country is beyond USA control including the heroin production which is at record high levels… Afghanistan retook its place as the world's leading producer of heroin last year, after US-led forces overthrew the Taleban which had banned cultivation of opium poppies.

Given all the above it is worth asking again what Bu$hCo is trying to achieve in Afghanistan? When lawlessness is as rampant as it is in Iraq, and they both have the same missing or inadequate strategies with no clear purpose, yet Americans are dying, then it’s time to reassess. The Afghanistan theater of operations should be drawing to a close. The US objectives should have been clear from the start. One of those objectives should be the destruction of the al-Qaida terror network and its leader, Osama bin Laden. But somehow, Bu$h with Kline's full support has not done either, establish a clear directive or fulfilled the mandate of 911.

The GOP cites Afghanistan as a success. In particular John Kline who in January of 2005 led a Congressional Delegation expedition to Afghanistan and Iraq to assess the progress of U.S. operations in support of the emerging democracies there. He was able to evaluate in his terms ‘the tremendous success of elections’ in Afghanistan and survey conditions.

If it’s so successful Congressman Kline, where is Bin Laden? Remember Osama bin Laden? He's the guy who attacked us on 9/11. He's the guy we were after when we plunged militarily into Afghanistan. He's the guy who President Bush proclaimed he wanted "dead or alive” while pulling troops out of Afghanistan to attack Iraq. Here, let me make it easy on you, just watch his videos!