Wikileaks and the war in Afghanistan

by Maureen Fiedler

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I've been listening with interest to the reports of Wikileaks, and the documents they released on the war in Afghanistan. The administration says in one breath that the revelations are "old news," and in the next breath that they will endanger our soldiers in the field. I don’t think one can have it both ways ... "old news" should not present a present danger to anyone.

What these leaks raise to a new level of consciousness is the futility of the war in that country. And so much of it has echoes of Vietnam. Here we are: propping up a corrupt regime, raising popular ire by killing civilians, claiming that we are training the Afghans to take over the struggle. ("Vietnamization," anyone?)

This raises once again the questions of so-called "just war" in the modern age. Is a "just war" possible? I for one don't think so. What we needed after 9-11 was an international "police action" to find, and arrest, Osama bin Laden and company, at a time when we had high international support. I keep wondering how different our age would be today had we done that.

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