The Really Bad Guys

We’ve known for a long time that the Taliban are bad actors.  Everything they do, from destroying centuries-old Buddhas of Bamiyan to throwing acid on the faces of girls who have the temerity to pursue education, demonstrates they are lowlife miscreants.  But recently, it’s become quantifiable.

According to recent press reporting, a survey by the U.N. (a crowd always willing to give terrorists the benefit of the doubt) holds the Taliban responsible for 75% of civilian deaths and 78% of civilian casualties here in 2010.  An ISAF survey puts the figure even higher, at around 85%, although that figure is based on figures from January to May of 2011.

This is a good thing for the Coalition, in that we are severely limiting collateral damage to civilians.  But it still sucks to be Afghan.  Taliban IEDs do not discriminate, they kill or maim whoever trips the triggering device.  And that’s just the coincidental deaths;  the Taliban also do not hesitate to assassinate government officials in an effort to undermine popular confidence in the government.  And when they send suicide bombers into, say, hospitals set up for the military, or maybe police recruiting stations, they also manage to kill innocent civilian bystanders.

Now if that turd of a president, Hamid Karzai, will kindly pull his head out of his ass and stop berating the Coalition for causing civilian casualties, polluting the environment, and every other evil under the sun, maybe we can make some progress here.  Every time he opens his yap on the subject, he darn near echoes the Taliban party line and helps fan the flames against the only people who really care about helping this country.

Moving on … encouraging news from the home front.  I see that the Senate unanimously confirmed Leon Panetta as the new SecDef.  After years of bitter and acrimonious partisanship, it’s refreshing to see those knuckleheads on the Hill come together on something.  Now if they can just do the same thing on the budget and deficit reduction.  Yeah, I know, I’m not holding my breath.

I note with some amusement that the New York Times emphasized that among Mr. Panetta’s new responsibilities will be the implementation of the DADT Repeal (come on now, that’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell).  Ummm, guys, we’ve got two wars and a limited intervention (which is still mired in a War Powers Resolution quagmire) going on … do you really think DADT is on the top of Panetta’s agenda?  (And I’ll refrain from commenting on the prevalence of “Man-Love-Thursday” among the Air Force types out here, despite DADT.)

I also see the commander-in-chief had made his decision on troop withdrawals.  Pulling back 10,000 troops this year looks like a compromise between the minimalist approach favored by the Pentagon and others, and the massive cuts called for by the far left.  My sense is that Obama, while trying to walk a fine line, will end up pleasing no one.  Conservatives will accuse him of gutting the war effort, and liberals will pillory him for not drawing down fast enough.  We’ll see if the big drawdown next September will help him in the 2012 election.

Also of note, it only took Sarkozy a few short hours to announce that France will also start drawing down.  Good, that means the U.S. guys at ISAF won’t have to stand in line so long at the espresso bars.  I wonder what that means for the French-run hospital at KAIA?  For the sake of my buddies at IJC, I hope the hot French nurses in short skirts are the last to leave.