Karzai on brink of a tainted victory

watched that on bbc last night. to me its more of a word game now.

i dont know what future holds and i am likely to be proven wrong but pulling out of afghanistan for britain at this stage is more like accepting defeat (i do not refer to the public, they are above it). britain is the second world power and pulling out would be a blow for global political stage setup by world powers.

during my university days, nearly 6-7 years ago, my LSE professor used to say that britian was going to learn the lesson the hard way for going into afghanistan. it did not seem that way at the time. would russia ever go back in? if not, why not?

I am sure the politicians and their spin doctors can dress it up, but sometimes it is better to just stand up and say "we were wrong"

britexpat: who disputes that? but is the world of politics that honest and simple. no. in 1857, people of the subcontinent fought for their freedom against the 'raj' but when did britain pull out and why? am sure you know more about that than i do. we also know what happened in vietnam.

i agree with you that ideally, we should admit our faults but is it really a fault in the eyes of british politicians?

The TALIBAN in my book they are just a bunch of thugs, cold killers and using Islam as an excuse for their cause. Specially the innocent people which are use as shields or treating in killing their families.

In war everything suffers, the commander had no choice in the bombing.

Graduated from Xavier Institute for Higher learning.
I guess humour, just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder...or understanding, in this case. By Alexa ( as I do not plagiarize)

own devices. Then it will be on them to control their extremists so they keep the mayhem within their borders. I just don't believe there is anything that will be achieved by staying there.

I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM

Seems like you folks think the Taliban were a legit and agreeable government... Would you approve of such a government in your own countries? Would you like your daughters and sisters being deprived of school and employment, your footballs and chessboards taken away, no music, no TV, no movies, no culture?

The Taliban were rather perniciously devised by a meeting of three interest spheres. It is only just that they pull their sleeves up and stick their arms elbow deep in the mud that they offered the Afghan people as a stable system of government and society. I do not support any troop pullouts until Afghanistan is a normal country. Or at least, what it was before the war against communism began. That will probably require absolute eradication of the Taliban and most importantly their ideological breeding grounds. Extreme conditions demand extreme responses.

an important question: who shud pull out da ql?

You went over there to capture a former ally that turned into a foe when things stopped being all hunky dory. Your money and your meddling created the Taliban in the first place. Your good, educated young people... I suspect you mean shining beacons of western civilization like Steven Green? Ever heard of a reality check?

had anything to do with Canada or vice-versa....let them now return to their truly miserable lives while the west pushes for Mars,,,,they are the most truly ignorant people on earth, and let them stay that way,,,,if a gifted individual rises amongst them, he/she will find a way out, as gifted people always do...

a break.

at the bottom of the barrel, you are at the bottom of the barrel,,,,questions regarding the subjectivity of standards are raised only in the 3rd world...

I always recall overhearing a conversation in Saudi.. One guy was going on about how great the Taliban were. Anothe asked the simple question "Would you let your family live under Taliban rule ?"

The answer was a firm NO! :O)

mmyke : Whatever our reasons for going there, the sad fact is that we have continued to support corrupt warlords and propped up a corrupt president. Our soldiers have give their lives in vain. Time to get out.

The Taliban were supported by many initially because they brought order and were not corrupt. However, their subsequent actions, including closing schools for girls and arbitrary justice turned the people against them.

Afghanistan is a feudal and tribal society. It is nigh on impossible to bring any semblence of democracy to the country.

Does disagreeing with you make one PC ??

I too have Afghani friends and many initially welcomed the Taliban because they brought law and order and were not corrupt like local polticians or police. One even mentioned that prior to the Taliban his family would have to pay at checkpoints to cross from one area to another. The Taliban put a stop to this. They also escorted goods vehicles through dangerous areas without charge.

However, as with history, they began to abuse their power and people turned against them.

went over with different things in mind, and frankly, we are more naive than most about imperialism,,,for those readers out there Canada has only 32 million people and the country is as wide as the distance between Qatar and London, and its as tall as it is wide.
Yes, Canada has unwittingly supported a corrupt system,,,,we thought that if you were to send in the Mounties that everyone would become clean and nice overnight,,,,well, these people were never clean and nice and wouldn't know it if they fell over it.
The Canadian military, by far, is a peacekeeping, humanitary military, whose soldiers usually airlift in drinking water making equipment, front line hospitals, and such things,,,,,to have these nice young people, sgtill with zits on their faces, going there to try to better the human condition, and then being blown up by a bunch of stone age thugs who throw acid into the faces of young female students,,,,
well, its time that we not lose one more good Canadian kid....

no one shud ever disagree wid PM. she iz alwayz rite.

PM: u shud beter stop analysin n judgin things dat u hv no clue abt. Dis iz wat u guyz did and ran into da hel dat u cant come out

Please don't forget
Innocent ppl of Japan and Korea.

As I said before , many countries were made to participate in order to bring credibility to the alliance.

Please petition your government to bring your troops home..

mmyke is like disparate wife.

crapcircle: Pulling at my own nerves over the prevailing inhumanity of certain posters on here is not my idea of a good time.

i like that.

UN watchdog, ya, should know better.

fair and free elections cannot be conducted in any country where there is no rule of law.