by Eric DonderoTime Magazine is running a shocking photo on its front cover for this week's edition. As the editors explain:
Our cover image this week is powerful, shocking and disturbing. It is a portrait of Aisha, a shy 18-year-old Afghan woman who was sentenced by a Taliban commander to have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws. Aisha posed for the picture and says she wants the world to see the effect a Taliban resurgence would have on the women of Afghanistan, many of whom have flourished in the past few years. Her picture is accompanied by a powerful story by our own Aryn Baker on how Afghan women have embraced the freedoms that have come from the defeat of the Taliban — and how they fear a Taliban revival.The non-interventionist wing of the libertarian movement wants an immediate pull-out of Afghanistan. The Ron Paul movement, Lew Rockwell and his followers, Justin Raimondo and Eric Garris at AntiWar.com, most Libertarian Party members, even many at Reason and Cato, all ignore the human rights catastrophe that would undoubtably follow.
As Raimondo has explained:
This war in Afghanistan has no convincing rationale, and no one can explain it – its goals, or what “victory” means, except as a) a war of retribution against enemies who have long since fled the scene, or b) a means of surrounding the Iranians, and a pretext for extending US influence into Central Asia.Human Rights does not fit the leftwing libertarian template. It's an inconvenience to their carefully crafted philosphy. Historical events such as the Jewish Holocaust in Europe, Stalin's mass starvation of the Ukrainiuns in the 1930s, the Armenian genocide by the Islamist Turks, Mao's murderous agrarian revolution, and the killing fields of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, are ignored by the non-interventionists. All instances where American pacifism and non-intervention helped to cause murder on a scale never before seen in human history.
No doubt, the non-interventionists will similarly ignore the threat of the Taliban to Afghani citizens, with an American pull-out.
To the non-interventionists, protecting the rights of young women from having their ears and noses cut off is not enough of a "rationale" for keeping our troops in this war-torn South Asia country.
(H/t HotAir)
30 comments:
American troops should defend AMERICA, not the "human rights" of foreigners, while simultaneously blowing them up.
You neocons may be holier-than-thou about this war being good for human rights, but a lot of poor women and children are being killed in it.
But of course, if they are Muslim, many neocons enjoy their deaths.
Yup, we're the Pro-Drug Legalization, Pro-Gay Rights, Pro-Choice, Pro-Gambling, Pro-Prostitution, Pro-Gun Rights, Abolish Weflare, Get rid of the IRS wing of the "NeoCons."
OH MY GOD . . . Eric manages to pull out the Hitler card. The Hitler card, the last gasp of a man with no leg to stand on.
The USA is not the policeman of the world. There are human rights issues all over the planet. We cannot invade everyone.
Our Army is thousands of miles away on foreign adventures while our southern border is being invaded by millions of people. Bring our troops home to protect America.
lol Dondero, how can you get rid of the IRS/income tax while continuing the Bush/Cheney foreign policy of war and imperialism?
You are a secular, libertine neocon, but nonetheless you are still a neocon.
Good grief! It's a shame, Lofo, that you constantly overlook two key points on Afghanistan: 1) the Taliban, the very regime which shielded al-Qaeda, are still a presence there and 2) we need to finish the job in Afghanistan and defeat the Taliban once and for all; simply declaring victory and getting out is the cowardly solution.
And Gary, if the comparison is valid, how is the "Hitler card" the last gasp of a man with no leg to stand on? Does that also apply to the comparisons with Stalin, the Turks, Mao, Pol Pot?
Morgan, these days every retard in the world drags out Hitler to make their point. They cannot win on the issue itself so bring out Hitler.
Mao killed helpless people. Genghis Khan killed helpless people. The Russian Czars killed helpless people. So what?
#1) We cannot change the savage nature of humans.
#2) We are bankrupt and borrowing money from Communists and Arabs to fund endless wars.
Bring home our troops and protect America's borders. American first.
Gary:
"Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men."
I think Rand nailed it. In these cases, especially with Islam, tribalism is the big problem. It creates an us against them mentality where rationality plays second fiddle at best. Unfortunately Rand's ideas of privacy and natural rights haven't come to fruition and in fact it's moving in the wrong direction. Wherever you have the "greater good", you'll have some idiot using it to oppress.
And I give a shit about the Afghan savages, why?
Yeah confiscatory taxes to fund the Afghan freedoms they don't want.
If they get our energy interests secured it's worth it. Otherwise it's Military /industrial corporate welfare.
And Eric for someone who presents themselves as a hard ass and a dick the bleeding heart BS does not become you.
If these girls wanna get out I propose an open immigration for any Afghani who can prove they have no terrorist ties and forgo voting rights.
Gary, the human rights factor matters here because we have troops in Afghanistan now. We went there to stop the Taliban because they were shielding al-Qaeda. If we leave now without putting the Taliban out of commission, the human rights catastrophe Dondero writes of will be one of the consequences of our refusal to finish the job.
And please spare me the endless wars/bankruptcy crap, as if our bringing the troops home would put us in the black economically in no time. With what the Obama administration is doing right now, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq aren't playing a major factor in our economic malaise.
Final point: Just because Hitler is brought out in an argument doesn't necessarily make the proponent a retard, if the comparison is valid.
Lofo...
First, your knife-work is as crude and sloppy as your "knowledge" of basic political terminology. Please review the definitions of the terms you use prior to abuse. You're beginning to make Gary look smart, and believe it, that's tough. (Yeah, don't tell us you're bitchy since your goat developed migraines. No excuses for your ignorance.)
Situation One: The Taliban run around stoning people to death, cutting ears off, executing people in soccer stadiums. There are no Americans around.
Situation two: The Taliban run around stoning people to death and cutting ears off. There are Americans around. They randomly bomb and shoot the earless stoned people while their puppet government executes people in soccer stadiums, at an annual cost to American taxpayers of $55 billion and at a low, but steadily growing, rate of American deaths at the hands of the Taliban and of the earless stoners who are sick of being randomly bombed and shot, in a country where thousands of years of experience make it absolutely clear that the baseline situation will always be, and always return to, Situation One.
Neither situation sounds very good.
Situation One sounds better than Situation Two.
The advocates of Situation Two are anti-freedom thieves and murderers who steal billions of dollars a year to finance their orgy of killing.
They are morally inferior to the Taliban.
They are the spiritual love children of Charles Manson and Bernie Madoff.
And no matter how many times they soil the term by fraudulently it to themselves, they are not "libertarians" or anything like "libertarians."
I find it arrogant that some of us think "democracy" will not only work anywhere in the world, but even more so if we push it down someone's throat.
The best solution to any of these countries is open trade. Economics fixes many things and also will foment change faster, better, with longer lasting results than using military force. Coercion, ever with something that is good, is bad and if people make rational choices about what is possible with their own free will, then good for them.
"spare me the endless wars/bankruptcy crap, . . ."
Morgan, this nation is teetering on the brink of a bottomless pit. We have more debt and obligations at all levels of government than all the nations of history combined.
The Right-Wing Socialist Party has been beating the drum of endless war while spending us into oblivion. And somehow by magic we never manage to find Osama bin Laden. . . . oh, but that is not our goal any more. We are there to build schools, roads, toilets and provide "security" all at the expense of the American taxpayer.
BS.
The best solution to any of these countries is open trade. Economics fixes many things and also will foment change faster, better, with longer lasting results than using military force. - Right Guy
Such a statement the day before Milton Friedman's birthday is quite prescient of you.
Little doubt we'll choose bombs over trade for the foreseeable future. Just think of the $ that Pharma could pump in there by buying the poppy for painkillers.
Even more if we had drug legalization. I'm 32 and I still think I'll see it in my lifetime. Could be wishful thinking on my part but we'll see.
Published in the ARMY TIMES on July 21, 2010:
Marine Col. Gregory Breazile, a spokesman for the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, said that until recently, the coalition lacked the trainers and resources to build effective fighting units.
"We were failing miserably to train both the police and army," Breazile said. "They were just shoving units through."
_________________________________
So for nine years we pretended to "train" the Afghans. It does not sound to me like we even wanted to win. If we won we might have to leave.
Gary, Knapp, Lofo, would it be so difficult for you all to just be truthful and honest for once, and just admit, that you really don't give a flying fuck about spreading liberty worldwide?
Can't you just say it. Say these words:
Women in Afghanistan being brutalized, tortured and murdered by the Taliban is no concern of us Americans.
Just come clean. Just say it. You'll be despised by us Rightwing Human Rights advocates, but at least we can respect your honesty.
- - - Women in Afghanistan are being brutalized, tortured and murdered by the Taliban is no concern of us Americans.
- - - Women in Chechnya being brutalized, tortured and murdered by the Russians is no concern of us Americans.
- - - Women in the Tamil region being brutalized, tortured and murdered by the Sri Lankans is no concern of us Americans.
Need I go on?
Bring our troops home to protect America from invasion from the South!
So Gary, we just sit back, watch, and let the rest of the world go to shit, 'eh? We should just completely isolate ourselves from the entire world within our own U.S. borders, and just say a big "Fuck You" to anyone fighting for Liberty in other Nations.
Geez, I wonder where we'd be if the French never came to our aid in 1776.
Probably drinking tea and eating crumpets, and speaking with an English accent.
Oh, and btw, it wasn't the Chechyns who killed 3,000 of our fellow countrymen on 9/11. It was the Taliban/Al Qaeda. And they ARE LOCATED IN AFGHANISTAN.
It became our concern on that fateful day.
Hey Gary, as much as I'm concerned about the "invasion" of Mexicans from the South, it wasn't Mexico that killed 3,000 of our countrymen on 9/11.
In fact, it's been about 150 years since any Mexican terrorists - Pancho Villa - have attacked the U.S.
Sorry Gary, but I'm much, much, much more concerned with Muslim Terrorism than any Mexican Terrorists.
Then learn to speak Spanish and fly the Mexican flag at city hall. While our brave soldiers are "defending" women in other nations our borders are undefended. American women, our language, our culture and our nation are being taken over by a foreign power.
Viva Reconquista.
Gary, Mexican culture is part of American culture. Hell, we've got an entire State named NEW MEXICO.
Mexico is our neighbor.
You give much more consideration to your nextdoor neighbors than foreign cultures halfway around the World.
AMERICA FIRST
- - - Tell the Serbs in Kosovo about immigration . . . oh that's right, there are no more Serbs in Kosovo and Kosovo is independent of Serbia.
- - - Tell the Greeks in Anatolia about immigration . . . oh that's right, there are no more Greeks in Anatolia and Anatolia is now another nation.
It is obvious that you do not love America. That you are happy to to have our borders undefended against entering terrorists and millions of invading illegals coming in.
Viva Reconquista.
Eric,
Spreading liberty worldwide? Sure, sounds like a great idea.
But I have to start somewhere, and trying to save the last vestiges of liberty in America from thieving, murderous, statist, authoritarian fucksticks like you and your fellow Republicans and Democrats seems like the most appropriate focus of my efforts for the moment.
Have a nice day.
Well Knapp, I'm sorry I spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year pushing for Liberty here in the United States, sleeping in cars, working for peanuts, eating fast food, all over the country trying to Repeal ObamaCare, fighting for Property Tax cuts, and helping to get the Libertarian Party on the ballot.
I'm just - what did you call it? - an "Anti-Liberty Fuck."
Yupper, us Anti-Libery Fucks sure do suffer a great deal for the cause of Liberty, while those armchair Libertarians who like to bitch on-line and collect checks from the government get to sit home, play with the kids, and watch the idiot tube all day long.
BTW Knapp, how about you telling the world, what exactly is your "Disability"?
Sure must be nice getting a big fat check from the Federal Government every month for doing nothing.
Wish I had it so easy. Last couple days I've been standing out in the 105 degree sun, getting signatures for one of those - ya know - pesky LIBERTARIAN efforts.
The Right-Wing Socialist Party has been beating the drum of endless war while spending us into oblivion. And somehow by magic we never manage to find Osama bin Laden. . . . oh, but that is not our goal any more. We are there to build schools, roads, toilets and provide "security" all at the expense of the American taxpayer.
BS.
Gary, I find that to be a load of bullshit, because you overlook what Obama has been doing, which also includes cuts on defense spending and only half-hearted actions on Afghanistan while still trying to follow a planned timeline for withdrawal.
What Bush did on spending for the most part was wrong, but do not put all the blame on some so-called right-wing socialist party. Only naive idiots believe crap like that.
And btw, Gary, take your Viva Reconquista and bury it in the sand along with your head, as you apparently do these days.
To whom it may concern,
Because he knows the facts of the issue are not on his side, Eric Dondero -- as is not unusual for him -- has once again resorted to just making shit up.
This time, he's claiming that I collect a "big fat [monthly] check from Federal Government" for some purported "disability."
I have never requested, nor have I ever received, nor do I intend to ever request or accept, any "disability" check from the federal (or any other) government.
I do not receive, nor do I ever intend to apply to receive, Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security disability or retirement "benefits."
The last time I received a "check from the federal government" was probably circa 12-13 years ago, and that would have been the customary annual refund of my own money withheld as income tax above and beyond what the IRS deemed its entitled rakeoff.
The last time I received a "check from the federal government" other than a tax refund was more than 15 years ago -- my last paycheck from the US Marine Corps.
The last time I can think of that I accepted any "benefit" of any kind from the federal government would have been early 2003, when I was treated at a Veterans Administration emergency room for an apparent stroke (turned out to be Bell's Palsy). I have since directed the person who holds my medical power of attorney that under no circumstances am I to ever be placed in the VA's care again.
If I ever accept another federal government "benefit," I expect it to be the military burial benefit. I rather fancy being buried in Arlington National Cemetery -- face-down, with an invitation to all government-employed passersby to kiss my ass.
What else ya got, Dondero?
I don't think you'll get buried in Arlington Tom. While they will bury a dirt bag like Ted Kennedy there, many people that have serve cannot. If I were you, I would do something different. I'd have my best friend shove my ashes down Obama's throat.
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