[Peace-discuss] People were hanged for this at Nuremberg

[C. G. Estabrook]

	Obama 'beginning' war in Afghanistan from 'scratch'	
	Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:41:16 GMT

An adviser to US president Barack Obama says Washington is "beginning" from 
"scratch" the war in Afghanistan, which he says the Bush administration had set 
"adrift."

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said on Sunday that former US president 
George W. Bush had failed to ask key questions regarding the war in Afghanistan.

"The president [Obama] is asking the questions that have never been asked on the 
civilian side, the political side, the military side and the strategic side," 
Emanuel told CNN's State of the Union.

"Do you have a credible Afghan partner for this process that can provide the 
security and the type of services that the Afghan people need?" Emanuel cited as 
one of the outstanding questions to be asked from Afghan leaders.

The White House chief of staff added that the Obama administration, upon coming 
to power, had to start the war in Afghanistan from the beginning.

"It's clear that basically we had a war for eight years that was going on, 
that's adrift, that we're beginning at scratch, just at the starting point ... 
and that there's not a security force, an army, and the types of services that 
are important for the Afghans to become a true partner," Emanuel said.

This is while the situation in the war-torn country has deteriorated since Obama 
took office in January. Afghanistan is currently witnessing the highest level of 
violence since the 2001 US-led invasion, despite the presence of more than 
100,000 foreign troops.

Since the start of the year about 1,500 Afghan civilians have lost their lives, 
and 250 US soldiers have have returned home in body bags as a result of the 
wrong policies adopted by foreign powers in the country.

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