War Notes: October 13, 2009

Assorted stories from the ongoing war in Afghanistan:

The Minnesota Independent pens a nice piece on the coalescing of progressive forces against troop escalation, with an ultimate aim of withdrawal. These hitherto disparate dissenters inside and outside Congress are beginning to speak with one voice and organize together.

Over at the Washington Note, Steve Clemons wonders why we are spending $65 billion per year in Afghanistan (that's pre-escalation numbers) when that nation's GDP is only $22 billion. Don't those figures call into question whether the problem so far has been "lack of resources"? Breeze down to the comment section and find a pretty lengthy analysis of Congressmen who have invested their stocks heavily in war profiteering companies. I personally don't think most of these people manage their own money accounts, but the facts are still pretty gross.

Finally, everyone's favorite- war games! It seems the U.S and India have been participating in war games, recognizing that they may need to work together if Pakistan is determined to destabilize Afghanistan. Why it has taken the U.S so long to recognize and respect the world's largest democracy has always stirred my blood. Nehru was a quasi-socialist as prime minister in the 40s and 50s, and thus the U.S had to back ruthless thugs in Pakistan for half a century. Go figure. India isn't exactly innocent when it comes to its relationship with Pakistan, and the U.S must like the idea of buddying up with a fellow rival to China, but if you're gonna pick a nation in the world to build a better partnership with, India is as good as any.