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Crucial questions on Afghanistan war
by Free Press Editorial
September 2, 2009

Many of your elected employees (e.g., Pres. Obama, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Representatives) are conducting so-called alleged “town hall” style meetings with their employers (otherwise known as voters) during the fully paid vacations you have provided for them in August and September.

Given that more members of the U.S. Armed Forces died in Afghanistan in July and August 2009 than in any other two month period since the U.S. successfully removed the then current government from power in Afghanistan in late 2001 almost eight years ago, you may wish to ask these questions in person or send them to each of your elected employees and ask for answers.

What military threat does Afghanistan currently pose to the United States?

Given that the purpose for the invasion of Afghanistan was fully accomplished in 2001, why are U.S. troops in Afghanistan today?

Given that the purpose for the invasion of Afghanistan was fully accomplished in 2001, how long do you intend to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan?

How many of your children are old enough to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces now?

How many of your children old enough to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces are in the service now?

What active steps have you taken to encourage those of your children old enough to serve to join the Armed Forces and fight in Afghanistan?

What vigorous and active steps have you taken to encourage your children who are too young to serve now to join the U.S. Armed Forces and go to Afghanistan as soon as they are old enough to serve?

Is Afghanistan currently capable of a military attack on the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands?

Has the current government of Afghanistan ever expressed any interest in attacking the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands?

How many tanks do the Afghans have on the Canadian border ready to move south?

How many tanks do the Afghans have on the Mexican border ready to move north?

How many planes does the Afghan Air Force have in place to provide air cover for Afghan tanks, if any, in Canada, Mexico, and the United States?

How many ships are in the Afghanistan Navy (hint: Afghanistan is land-locked)?

What capability does the Afghanistan Navy have to interdict U.S. sea lines of communication?

What capability does the Afghan Navy have to attack the U.S. Navy at sea?

What capability does the Afghan Navy have to attack and sink merchant ships?

How many nuclear weapons does Afghanistan have?

How many intercontinental ballistic missiles does Afghanistan have which are capable of striking the U.S.?

How many intercontinental ballistic missiles does Afghanistan have which are capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the continental U.S.?

How many sea launched ballistic missiles does Afghanistan have which are capable of striking the U.S.?

How many sea launched ballistic missiles does Afghanistan have which are capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the continental U.S.?

How many submarines capable of carrying sea launched ballistic missiles does Afghanistan have in its Navy?

How many bombers are in the Afghan Air Force?

How many bombers in the Afghan Air Force are capable of flying to the U.S. through U.S. air defenses?

How many divisions of troops does the Afghanistan Army have parked in ships off the East Coast ready to make an over the beach landing on the East Coast?

How many divisions of troops does the Afghanistan Army have parked in ships off the Gulf Coast ready to make an over the beach landing on the Gulf Coast?

How many divisions of troops does the Afghanistan Army have parked in ships off the West Coast ready to make an over the beach landing on the West Coast?

How many planes does the Afghan Air Force have in place to provide air cover for the over the beach amphibious landings?

How many tankers does the Afghan Air Force have in place over the United States to provide aerial refueling for the planes, if any, the Afghan Air Force has in place to provide air cover for the over the beach amphibious landings?

How many divisions of paratroops can the Afghanistan Air Force fly 8,000 miles or so (through the air defenses of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, NORAD, and various NATO allies) to parachute into, capture, and disarm Kansas?

Given the report by Reuters to the effect that a large part of the money (including the recent supplemental appropriation of $50B you’re sending to Afghanistan while various government supported banks are throwing hundreds of thousands of Americans out of their homes because the homeowners are in arrears a few thousands of dollars apiece per month on their mortgages) the U.S. is spending in Afghanistan is being used (via the drug trade and the Taliban) to kill American soldiers and the report by McClatchy to the effect that many Afghan officials are personally profiting from the U.S. funding (through the drug trade and the Taliban) of the killing of U.S. soldiers, why should the U.S. spend money in Afghanistan for which we have many unmet needs in the United States?

Why is it in the national interest of the United States to pay for its own soldiers to be killed?

If it is not in the national interest of the United States to pay for its own soldiers to be killed, what, if anything, do you promise to do in the next month to align the U.S. policy in Afghanistan with the U.S. national interest?

If it is not in the national interest of the United States to pay for its own soldiers to be killed and you plan to do nothing in the next month to align the U.S. policy in Afghanistan with the U.S. national interest, how, if at all, do you justify taking a pay check from the American people?

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