Tag Archives: Afghanistan

The War in Afghanistan is a Libertarian Nightmare

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War in Afghanistan

The War in Afghanistan is coming to an end, or is it? This war is a realized nightmare from a Libertarian perspective. We never should have started the War in Afghanistan. We should not still be prosecuting it. President Trump has announced an agreement to withdraw U.S. troops and I applaud the sentiment but the execution is going to lead to horrific consequences for many, particular those opposed to the draconic Taliban rule of Sharia Law.

This nightmare has it roots with President Reagan and the fact he essentially created the Taliban because they fought against Russian occupation. It wends its insidious horrors through the presidencies of all who followed escalating with President Bush’s invasion. U.S. soldiers have been giving life and limb in that country for nearly twenty years and now we are planning a full retreat.

Make no mistake about this so-called agreement with the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan. The Trump administration claims details of the treaty must be kept secret from the people of the United States in order to save the lives of U.S. soldiers. This is a lie on its face. You must remember, the people who signed it are the enemy. They know all its contents and we the people of the United States do not. Taliban leadership is fully aware of every crossed t and dotted i in the document.

The agreement asks the Taliban not to support terrorist organizations but how on earth are you going to check for that? What, those rascals blew up a convoy of girls going to school? Well, we didn’t support that, it was rogue elements. So sorry. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Meanwhile, with the agreement supposedly in place, they are attacking Afghani government sites at an increased pace. They’ve temporarily ramped down attacks on U.S. soldiers because they correctly surmise, we just don’t give a poop about Afghani citizens or their government, only about us. Harsh truths.

We are running away and leaving the country in a far more terrible position than we found it. The Taliban are going to take over, women and those who believe in freedom are going to suffer and die. Terrorist and anti-U.S. elements will flock the nation and gain support in their attacks against us.

Is continuing the war in Afghanistan any better? Will losing more lives, alienating people through endless drone attacks that kill more civilians than terrorist, that radicalize far more people than they kill, will that make the situation better? No, no it won’t.

President Trump is correct, it’s time to leave. I wish he’d stop pretending this isn’t a full retreat. I wish he’d stop lying about enforcing the unenforceable. I wish we’d just get out and admit we lost. There will be hell to pay, as the saying goes. It’s a mess and the only solution is as WOPR so eloquently suggested, “Strange game, the only winning move is not to play.”

Tom Liberman

$10 Billion Tax Dollars to stop Afghans from Growing Poppies

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Poppy CultivationI read a lot of news stories trying to find things to blog about and I was perusing an article about how the United States government spent $3 million on seven rigid patrol boats that don’t look much different than the raft I floated down the river in while on vacation in Colorado. That’s $375,000 per boat. They were ordered to help patrol the rivers of Afghanistan. The boats are sitting unwanted and unused in a warehouse.

Near the end of the article they mention $10 billion spent on anti-narcotics and agriculture programs in Afghanistan since 2002. The idea being to curtail the growing of poppies which eventually are used to make heroin. Since 2002 the production of poppies in Afghanistan has tripled. $10 billion of your tax dollars spent on the War on Drugs in addition to the annual budget of the DEA which is $3 billion.

Furious about this waste, I started to do some research into where this $10 billion was spent. The first story I turned up was this one. Corruption in Afghanistan is high so we’ve created a court that is above corruption, well, sort of. Basically everyone who comes before it gets convicted. Of course only low level farmers who grow relatively small amounts come before this court. The big players never see the inside of the place. That sure endears us to the people of Afghanistan. It’s all nonsense of course. They take our money, throw lots of little fish in jail, and smile all the way to the bank.

The second article I found was a long and detailed one from 2009 report written by the Brookings Institute. It basically calls all efforts prior to a change of policy by the Obama administration in 2009 a complete and utter failure in which far more damage was than any good.

The report focuses on how to keep the money from drug sales away from those who plan and execute terrorist attacks. It details many of the difficulties involved in attempting to do just that and doesn’t paint a rosy picture. It tries to offer a real solution.

Of course our money isn’t being spent that way and of course no one seems to care.

No one is much interested in a real solution. We want lots of people thrown in prison. We want huge hauls of heroin that we can show-off to the public and claim our misguided plans are working. This is the country we live in today. People want a soundbite, a scapegoat, and a huge plate of french fries.

I don’t have a real point today. I’m just super-angry about $10 billion that was used not to alleviate a problem but actually exacerbate it. To make people all over Afghanistan hate me and want to kill me. Then there’s the $3 million on eight stupid little boats that are doing nothing.

When will this madness stop?

If you blame Democrats, if you blame Obama, if you blame Republicans, if you blame Jessica Simpson and Kim Kardashian, well, I’ve got a suggestion for you, blame yourself. You vote in elections, you click on stories, you drive the media, and you drive the country.

Do I see people getting angry enough to vote in Independents who don’t care about agendas and simply want to do what’s right? In a word, no.

But don’t worry, I’m not giving up! I’ll keep posting my blogs, I’ll keep writing my books, and I’ll keep voting for Independents.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery Fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
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Afghanistan Adultery Murder – The Bible

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stoningA lot of people are up in arms about the execution of a woman in Afghanistan. As is my want I’m not going to go after an easy target. The people who would do this are vile. We all agree. Let’s take a look at the mentality that justifies such acts.

Old Testament

Leviticus 20:10 – If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife–with the wife of his neighbor–both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

Deut. 22:23 – If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her.

Deut. 22:24 – Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

The Reported Words of Jesus

Matthew 5:28 – But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:32 – But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

Quran

Sura 24 (An-Nur), ayat 2 – The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication,- flog each of them with a hundred stripes: Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment.

Interestingly I had been badly misled about adultery cases. To be convicted of adultery the accused woman must be testified against by four witnesses who saw the act in question. I had alway heard that the woman had to produce four witnesses to prove she was raped but it is, in fact, the other way around. If four witnesses don’t confirm the original accusation the accusers is to be whipped.

Sura 24 (An-Nur), ayat 4-5 – And those who accuse free women then do not bring four witnesses, flog them, (giving) eighty stripes, and do not admit any evidence from them ever; and these it is that are the transgressors.Except those who repent after this and act aright, for surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

The religious case against adultery is clear. It is evil and wrong and punishable by stoning in Jewish/Christian faith and whipping or stoning in Islamic faith. And, according to Jesus, if you look at a woman with lust you have committed adultery in your heart. Not a lot of wiggle room there.

Of course, this is madness. Few, if any, Christians agree with the punishment although almost all agree that it is a crime; despite often being flagrant violators of it.

The biggest issues comes with literalism as contrasted with Biblical Criticism. Basically you either believe the bible or quran is the absolutely literal truth or believe it is in need of interpretation according to the times.

Literalism is most closely associated with Evangelical Christians in the United States and proponents of Sharia law amongst Muslims.

If the words of the holy book are literal truths and adultery, even looking lustfully at a woman, is a capital offense there seems to be only one solution. Kill all men, except the gay ones, oh wait, gotta kill them too!

This is one reason I’m proud to stand in front of any group and proclaim that my faith is in the Constitution of the United States. That the holy books were written by people. That I am an Atheist. There is no god and certainly the exact words of the supposed god and saviors are unmitigated insanity. There are others who think differently. Some of those others kill women for the crime of adultery.

Where to you stand? Let me know in the comments.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist
New Release: The Hammer of Fire

Afghanistan Massacre

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WarI wanted to look at a serious topic today in regards to the United States soldier who murdered a number of Afghanistan citizens. From what I see there is considerable debate about the usefulness of releasing the name of Staff Sergeant Bales to the general public. It’s been released so the debate is moot but I think it’s important to understand whether or not releasing the name is good idea.

The argument against releasing the name boils down to the idea that the facts of the case have not been adjudicated in a court of law and giving out the soldier’s name puts his family in a terrible position. He is accused of an awful crime and, even if exonerated, he and they are stained by the accusation forever.

The arguments for releasing the name is that, like anyone charged with criminal behavior, their name is publicly available.

The unusual circumstances are that the crime took place in a foreign country by a U.S. soldier. I’m of the opinion that these unusual circumstances make it even more imperative that his name be released. Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 the military and political supporters of the war seem to have had a propaganda orientated mindset in place to support the war.

The first incident I remember with clarity was that of Jessica Lynch. She was a member of the Quartermaster Corps and when the vehicle in which she rode was attacked she ended up being captured. The military immediately put forth a completely fabricated story about the event. To her credit, when rescued she told the truth.

The next incident that comes to mind is the treatment of prisoners in the Abu Graib prisoner-of-war camp. Beware, there are graphic images through that link. Again, the military did all it could to pretend that nothing was wrong until picture evidence began to emerge and some consequences were eventually doled out. There is some evidence to suggest that the activities were known to and approved by the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.

The incident that is most striking in my mind involved fellow atheist and soldier Pat Tillman. The manner of is death, possible murder, was covered up at the highest levels of the military almost from the moment it happened. His parents were lied to, his platoon mates were ordered to lie, military officials actively blocked investigations, and the truth may never be known.

Now, the reason I mention all these events, which occurred under the President George W. Bush administration, is the effect they have on serving military personnel.

Let me digress for a moment. At your work, how does it make you feel when a poor employee is given a raise or promoted? How does it make you feel when someone who breaks rules is covered up for by administration?

Every time we cover up the truth, no matter how painful, we dishonor all the soldiers who serve with honor and distinction. Every time we sweep our dirty laundry under the bed we encourage the dishonorable to go about their business. We discourage the good people and encourage bad ones. Conversely, when we punish those who commit crimes we encourage all those who serve with honor. This is my point. We must release the name of the wrongdoer to show our wonderful soldiers that we support them. It seems, at first glance, to undermine them but it is actually the opposite. Hiding the blemishes only makes the worst sorts bolder in their behavior and the best more timid.

If we hide the soldier who murdered the civilians we do ourselves, his family, his fellow soldiers, and our country no favors. Let the truth shine as brightly upon our mistakes as upon our successes and our nation will thrive. Those who commit crimes must be punished just as those who do good deeds must be rewarded. That is Libertarianism and personal responsibility.

Let me know what you think about releasing the soldiers name in the poll below and share this article if you think it’s a worthwhile read.

[polldaddy poll=6051101]

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

Teaser – Afghanistan Massacre

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WarI’m going to take on a pretty serious topic tomorrow. Last week an American soldier rampaged through a village in Afghanistan and killed many civilians including women and children in their sleep. What I want to talk about is the releasing of the soldier’s name to the general public and importance of doing or not doing so.

Whether or not to release the name has gotten some pretty passionate arguments from both sides of the issue and I think the behavior of the army and the government during the aftermath of this horrific event is going to speak greatly about the United States of America and for what we stand.

Stay tuned.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist