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Afghanistan
Taliban Vow War if U.S. Stay in Afghanistan after 2014
2013-01-06
[An Nahar] The Taliban on Saturday warned of a prolonged war in Afghanistan if any foreign troops stay after the end of 2014, as Kabul and Washington prepare to discuss the "residual" U.S. security presence.

President Barack Obama
Why can't I just eat my waffle?...
and President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
will hold talks in the U.S. next week on a long-term security pact between the two countries, with U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan at the top of the agenda.

"If America wants to leave a small or large number of its troops for whatever length of time then it means war and destruction will continue in the region for that same length," the Taliban said in a statement.
Posted by:Fred

#5  Looks like the 9000-from-10000 minima "safe" post-pullout US force in Afghanistan is still shrinking.

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [SCMP.com] US PLANNING TO KEEP SMALLER FORCE OF ABOUT 6,000 TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN AFTER 2014.

I'm interpreting the "6,000" figure to mean "+/-", mostly "-".

By definition, IMO the US Govt-DOD must have good- to-high confidence in Kabul Govt. + Afghan National Army, Police given the Taliban's threat of new war come 2014 + after iff even one US = US-NATO Soldier remains in Afghanistan???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2013-01-06 23:06  

#4  Yep, couple dozen low yield nukes should do it. Prevailing wind is to Packyland. Bonus!
Posted by: Zenobia Bluetooth1712   2013-01-06 10:48  

#3  Nation building, Mike Ramsey. But in Afghanistan it is hard to distinguish from war, since both end up looking like Nagasaki, 1945. The difference is Afghanistan started out looking about like that.
Posted by: Glenmore   2013-01-06 10:10  

#2  Hmm, what do the Taliban think they have now?
Posted by: Mike Ramsey   2013-01-06 09:55  

#1  
Posted by: Water Modem   2013-01-06 04:20  

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