[Peace-discuss] Why Obama will continue the war

[Carl G. Estabrook]

"...the U.S. government intends to maintain effective military control  
over Afghanistan by one means or another, either through a client  
state with military bases, and support for what they’ll call Afghan  
troops. That’s the pattern elsewhere as well. So, for example, after  
bombing Serbia in 1999, the United States maintains a huge military  
base in Kosovo, which was the goal of the bombing. In Iraq, they’re  
still building military bases even though there is rhetoric about  
leaving the country. And I presume they will do the same in  
Afghanistan too, which is regarded by the U.S. as of strategic  
significance in the long term, within the plans of maintaining control  
of essentially the energy resources and other resources of the region,  
including western and Central Asia. So this is a piece of ongoing  
plans which in fact go back to the Second World War.

"Right now, the United States is militarily engaged in one form or  
another in almost a hundred countries, including bases, special forces  
operations, support for domestic military and security forces. This is  
a global program of world militarization, essentially tracing back to  
headquarters in Washington, and Afghanistan is a part of it. It will  
be up to Afghans to see if, first of all, if they want this; secondly,  
if they can act in ways which will exclude it. That’s pretty much  
what’s happening in Iraq. As late as early 2008, the United States was  
officially insisting that it maintain military bases and be able to  
carry out combat operations in Iraq, and that the Iraqi government  
must privilege U.S. investors for the oil and energy system. Well,  
Iraqi resistance has compelled the United States to withdraw somewhat  
from that, substantially, in fact. But the efforts will still  
continue. These are ongoing conflicts based on long standing  
principles. Any real success in moving towards demilitarization and  
reconstruction of relations will have to require primarily the  
commitment of Afghans, but, as well, the cooperative efforts of  
popular groups of the Western powers to pressure their own  
governments..."

 From <http://www.nationofchange.org/noam-chomsky-us-afghanistan-strategic-partnership-agreement-part-global-program-world-militarization 
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