by frog
Radio New Zealand’s new encrypted headlines communicate secret SAS locations. 
RadioNZ’s coffee must be ‘absirdly’ good
Published: October 5, 2009
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Please use 
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
Where is your assessment of what should be done in Afganistan?
At present their is a risk that the taliban will return and provide a safehaven for Islamic extremists.
My guess is that green party policy is based on the assumption that international capitalism is causing resource depletion and the need to prop up unjust regimes in the middle east and this is the fuel that fires the Islamic extremists?
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That Stanley A. McChrystal’s an impressive chap
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal
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Correct except that its not an assumption. Not that the extremists wouldn’t be there anyway; they are batshit crazy like any extremists and more dangerous than many. But pouring fuel on an incendiary group and expecting them not to go off has to be a stupid strategy in anyone’s book.
As for what to do in Afghanistan, since we can only make things worse, we should get out instead.
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I tend to be fairly neutral, and policy gives little guidance as Afghanistan is a rod fashioned for our own backs through the UN itself. So not really easy to just back out.
We’ve done a lot to give some people there hope. Women going to school and a variety of other more progressive things. The Taleban WILL take those things away. As pointed out, they are batshit crazy.
Optimum solution? IMHO it would be to give ‘em back the country in exchange for Osama-Bin-Forgotten and his brood. Make it clear what is about to happen and help as many potential victims of the crazies get out of Dodge.
Which doesn’t speak volumes about what New Zealand itself should do. None of that is up to us.
Publicly stating this as a preference might however, reduce the active-targeting of our people.
Not that I expect the Taleban reads or believes anything we say, but it’s a chance and it seems to me to be the “right” path out… the wrong path was taken to get in of course, but that’s another problem not of our making.
Simply withdrawing isn’t part of the option set for the major players at this point. What we do is probably dependent on other considerations, not what is right or wrong… but pulling out IS an option for us. Justifying it internationally would be … delicate.
respectfully
BJ
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He hasn’t impressed everyone in quite the right way though.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20091006_gen_mcchrystals_celebrity _weekend/
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