Bring It On!

Afghanistan, Iraq, Proxy Wars, and Blowback

September 30th, 2006 | by Jersey McJones |

There’s an interesting new list out from the International Herald Tribune, IHT. It is a list of all the suicide bombings on record in Afghanistan since the start of hostilities over there after 9/11.

While there were no suicide attacks in 2001 and 2002, and only 2 in 2003 and none in 2004, starting in May of 2005 through now there have been 16 attacks leaving scores injured and killing 178 people by my count. The attacks have been increasing in ferocity and ubiquity. The targets can be anyone from police, to US soldiers, to other foreign soldiers, to everyday Afghanis going about their business.

The Taliban is reported to be “on the rise” again, as fighting in the provinces is becoming more frequent and intense. Opium production (which will kill and ruin the lives of more Americans than the terrorists could ever dream of) is soaring.

An insecure, unstable, violent, and theocratic Afghanistan became a perfect setting for terrorists to headquarter after America turned it’s back on the country post successfully employing it as a proxy in the Cold War fight against the USSR. It looks like that’s happening again. NATO is stepping in now, but it’s hard to say if the commitment will match the challenge. Iraq, another proxy - this time in our new phony, MIC profit-scheme “war,” the War on Terror - seems to be headed in the same direction as post-Soviet war Afghanistan. And no international force now wants a piece of that fiasco.

There are many lessons that could be culled out of all this, but there are two most obvious:

1: “Taking the fight to the enemy” is all well and fine, if that’s what you are actually doing. In Iraq we are not. “Taking the fight to the enemy” would involve Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan - three ostensible allies. What we are doing in Iraq is fighting a proxy war. We’re using their country as a battle ground - not to “free the people” or any of the other lofty, selfless rhetorical goals we claim - but to draw terrorism to Iraq. And when this “administration” publically states that we are “taking the fight to the enemy” in Iraq, or “better to fight them there (in Iraq) than here,” the message the Iraqi people hear is infuriating, degrading, and outright disgusting. It would be as if there were three neighbors - A, B, and C. A, one night when drunk and feeling messianic, throws a molotov cocktail through the window of B’s house. So B invades C’s house to lure A there to fight it out even though C had nothing to do with any of it and, if anything, was hated by A as much as B! The lesson? Don’t be a scumbag who fights cowardly proxy wars. Fight your own wars with your own enemies.

2: When you do fight a proxy war, a phony war, or any war, do not turn your back on the victims when it is over. Imagine if there had been no Marshall Plan? Would Europe be the liberal, democratic, economic powerhouse it is today? It seems unlikely. When you build a house for someone, do you build everything but the roof and then just walk away and expect the homeowner to be happy with your work? The lesson? Don’t do things half assed and don’t walk away from your responsibilities, lest they “blow back” to haunt you.

JMJ

  1. 4 Responses to “Afghanistan, Iraq, Proxy Wars, and Blowback”

  2. By anaveragepatriot on Sep 30, 2006 | Reply

    JMJ It’s interesting you mentioning a proxy wa. I agree! This was my thought on this a ccouple months back!

    Hezbollah Israeli war between Bush and Iran by Any name Middle East war by Proxy

             We had a discussion yesterday explaining that the war in the middle east is just beginning to erupt and was due to Bush himself as he said from the beginning that he wanted a new middle east order. as we said, this new middle east order we are witnessing in Iraq, Israel, and Lebanon, will spread through out the entire middle east as should have been expected by Bush.
             Bush used to brag about how he was straightening out the middle east and his goal was to democratize it as he did and create a new order. Those are his own objectives and words from the get go. I would just like to see someone of consequence remind him of that.
            You keep hearing the question who is responsible for the middle east violence. They blame Hezbollah, Israel, Iran, everyone but Bush who set this all in motion. I will today and do often but I will ask you also to send this to Congress, the Senate, Your Senator, Anyone, to attempt to get someone to see reality and act on it. Bush’s middle east breakdown will not be stopped though.
          http://www.dailykos.com/....

           Right now it is between Israel who is fighting for their and Bushco’s interests and Hezbollah who is fighting for their and Iranco’s interests. this is indeed a war very much by proxy!
    I have seen so much conflicting feedback on what is happening in the Middle East any many of you know how I feel about the fact that Bush set what will be the total breakdown of the entire middle east in motion as part of his plan for new world order by attacking Iraq and unsettling the region. http://www.dailykos.com/....
            We hear all the time that we must support Israel in her fight against terrorism as she is fighting for the interests of America.
    http://www.chron.com/....

            Then I caught sight of this article accusing Iran of fighting a war by proxy using Lebanon. So Hezbollah and others are fighting for Iran. This might all surprise you!
    http://www.nysun.com/....
            There are those like Bush and Iran who want to change the middle east landscape and are looking for others to prosecute this for them. The information in the article about Iran’s proxy war was so telling I thought you should see it too.
        The only thing that came to my mind is that  is the author is biasedly accusing Iran of fighting a war by proxy using Lebanon but Bush is doing the same thing but using Israel,

            Worse,  the Shia commentators in Baghdad starting using the Arabic word “ihtilal,” meaning occupation, to refer to the American and coalition presences.
            The word “ihtilal” has a sinister connotation that communicates what Iran intends as it provokes the rage of the Shia of Iraq. “Ihtilal” means a completely unacceptable occupation, an occupation that must be resisted at all costs until it is extirpated and destroyed.

            The Iranians are at the beginning of their war to defeat America, to subjugate their neighbors, and to isolate and destroy Israel. The rogues North Korea and Syria and Iran are working together shamelessly along with their terror proxies that are headquartered in Damascus, and they believe they are winning and that America is losing.

            This concerns me but no more than watching what Bush is doing from his end. Meanwhile the peace loving and innocent in the middle east and everywhere are caught in the middle of Iran’s and Bush’s game that will end in the successful destruction of the middle east.  http://www.dailykos.com/....

  3. By Jersey McJones on Oct 1, 2006 | Reply

    Yeah, it certainly is a game, and a nasty one at that.  Iran, I’m convinced, is also playing America against Russia and China as they see a new order of power emerging in the world.

    JMJ  

  4. By anaveragepatriot on Oct 1, 2006 | Reply

    Yhep! Of course you’re right! it is quite a game they are all playing and it is not going to turn out as any of them think.

                                                                                                    JMJ

  5. By Darius on Dec 20, 2006 | Reply

    You do not need to search for working free web proxies. All is here.
    Find free web proxy for desired country!
    All proxies are regulary checked if they still alive.

    http://getproxy.emigrantas.com

    enjoy it!

Post a Comment