Meet the new boss

MANIFESTO

For the life of me, I can't figure out why the US is in Afghanistan other than to placate the Charles Krauthammers of the world. Apparently, the ostensible reason is that Dr. Fu Manchu Osama bin Laden is there, and HE MUST BE TERMINATED! The truth of the matter is that bin Laden had his fifteen minutes of fame and now has as much clout as Junior Griffey.

Ultimately,

The war in Afghanistan—the war that Barack Obama pledged to fight and win—has become an aimless absurdity ... [F]or the past seven years, Afghanistan has been a slow bleed against an array of mostly indigenous narco-jihadi-tribal guerrilla forces that we continue to call the "Taliban." These ragtag bands are funded by opium profits and led by assorted religious extremists and druglords, many of whom have safe havens in Pakistan.

Yet, there we are, in another senseless excursion Robert McNamara would've been proud of. Once again, American troops' role in this godforsaken environment is to serve as cannon fodder.

Seven American troops were killed Monday across Afghanistan in one of the bloodiest single days since the start of the 2001 war, an indication of the harsh fighting ahead as U.S. reinforcements square off with the resurgent Taliban.

Moreover,

As U.S. troops in Afghanistan suffered the largest one-day death toll in months Monday, military officials and experts warned Americans to brace for rising casualties as thousands of additional service members pour into the country to confront a resurgent Taliban.

So far this year, 95 American troops have died in Afghanistan, including seven on Monday, according to the independent website icasualties.org. At the current rate, 2009 would be the deadliest for the U.S. in more than seven years of fighting, surpassing the number killed last year, the military said.

This is so tiring. I keep hoping that the US can get off this treadmill and show some resolve and let others handle their own problems. But it looks as if yet another administration is going to try to make the world safe for democracy as it descends into the abyss.