A wise policy and one that does you well most of the time. Human emotions and motivations are complex things.

However, sometimes a fellow will try to point out what looks like the dominate motivation out of the many different motivations that cause a human to act in a given way. For example, the Taliban seems to have as a dominate motivation the ejection of foreign armies from their soil. While there may, in fact, be other motivations among the various groups or tribes; I think one is safe claiming tossing out foreigners as the driving motivation.

So, when someone hollers that it is all about the oil pipeline I take it that they mean that is the dominate motivation rather than the only one. (I disagree with that take, but that is anther matter)

Your mileage may vary.

But did Afghanistan attack us? I doubt seriously that the government of Afghanistan, much less its people, attacked the United States in 2001. In fact, the official legend of that event was that a group of individuals led by Osama bin Laden pulled off that mass murder.

A former poster here liked to point out, as I do, that no trial was ever conducted to prove the allegation that the group we say did the deed --- in fact did it. There is evidence pointing to various other parties and until we have a real investigation this goes down with "Remember the Maine" as a convent rallying cry to an unjust war.

I did not listen to the speech since I just can not stand to hear Bush talk. (or a Bush stand-in)

Perhaps the best one comment on the whole thread. Obviously I agree with you on that.

If it is now and always has been a UN operation; then f*ck it, lets us leave now and let the UN clean up and close up shop.

If it was really us (as anyone with eyes to see knows), then let us apologize and pay reparations and get the f*** out of there.

Staying is immoral on several fronts; not the least of which is that the poor in this country are being bleed dry to support this insane exercise in nation building.

Some intellectuals have made a case that Democracy is not the best form of government anyway. Some think that it always ends like this. I have no dog in that fight as I don't see any way to constrain government no matter the form it takes.

I will agree that the end of the USA as empire is close at hand. The economics of the matter virtually guarantee it.

Let me see now, someone said Obama is sending 30,000 more troops out to Afpak. Someone else said it is at a cost of a million dollars per troop per year.

So, 30,000 X 1,000,000 = 30,000,000,000 dollars per year additional spending per year. (and all government estimates are low by definition)

30 Billion Dollars a year extra on top of what we are spending now! That would feed all the hungry in my state, perhaps the whole country. That amount would even ... [fill in for yourself].

Hey! Shazam! You could even identify all high school seniors that are "inner city" poor and have an "A" average; and then run a lotto to give 30,000 of these kids a million dollars to pay for college, thus creating a great incentive to do well in school. :) Why not? At least it is better that murdering more innocent civilians on the other side of the world. Eh? (*)

---
(*)No, it would not work. The newly created bureaucracy would cost more that the 30 Billion a year to fund, leaving nothing for the kids. And, yes, I do know that "kids" is the wrong word and "children" should be used. So?

You got me on that one. It is the hillbilly in me; I just refuse to use "affect" in everyday speech. Sorry to offend.

You mention the "typing police". I know that you recognize that your lack of touch typing effects spelling and grammar since you have to look at the keys instead of the monitor screen. It also effects the length of reply as well as interrupts your thought flow.

I recommend:

http://www.typing-lessons.org/

It is online, free, easy, and it works. I have seen it work. I urge you to use that site for just 30 minutes a day and in 3 weeks you will be a touch typist, even if not the fastest in the world. Then your posts will clean themselves up a lot and you can make your points more effectively.

Do not misunderstand, I think you will still be shot down because I think your personal philosophy is dead wrong --- but give yourself every edge you can.

I think this post to you is two posts in one. (my first and my last)

Bye.