US lawmaker's 'reality-check' on the Afghan war

The outspoken US Congressman Ron Paul questions planned US troop build-up in Afghanistan predicting that “things will get worse” with deployment of more troops.

“It is no coincidence that the more troops we send the worse things get,” writes Paul in an article posted on the 'Antiwar.com' website. “Things are getting worse precisely because we are sending more troops and escalating the violence.”

“We overthrew the Taliban government in 2001 with less than 10,000 American troops,” the 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate noted. “Why does it now seem that the more troops we send, the worse things get?”

“If the Soviets bankrupted themselves in Afghanistan with troop levels of 100,000 and were eventually forced to leave in humiliating defeat, why are we determined to follow their example?”

The Texas congressman also questioned the length of the Afghan war, adding: “Lasting twice as long as World War II and with no end in sight, the war in Afghanistan has been one of the longest conflicts in which our country has ever been involved.”

Paul then expounds on reasons for strengthening of the insurgency in face of more troop build-ups and more bombings there. He writes, “Another thing that war does is create anger with its indiscriminate violence and injustice. How many innocent civilians have been harmed from clumsy bombings and mistakes that end up costing lives? People die but the killers never face consequences.”

He goes on to state that the war itself is fueling the insurgency, predicting that the US would finally have to leave Afghanistan in defeat.

“Imagine the resentment and anger survivors must feel when a family member is killed and nothing is done about it,” he asks in the article titled, Saving Face and Losing Lives.

“We have to accept that when we push people, they will push back,” Paul reiterates. “The real question is: why are we there at all? We are no longer dealing with anything or anyone involved in the attacks of 9/11.”

The congressman concludes by offering his audience the bottom-line issue concerning the war in Afghanistan: “At this point we are only strengthening the resolve and the ranks of our enemies. We have nothing left to win. We are only there to save face, and in the end we will not even be able to do that.”