An Open Letter to Arianna Huffington

Now I normally don't let the simpering drivel of the left wing bother me too much, but a column regarding the stability of Afghanistan by Arianna Huffington showed up in Stars and Stripes the other day and it is so far off the mark that it demands a response.  So I hope you will indulge my politicizing this blog for a post.

Dear Ms. Huffington,

Ms. Huffington, your January 9th column is not only grossly misleading, it is irresponsible.  Clearly relying on skewed and second-hand information it draws false conclusions to support your myopic political perspectives.

While it’s true that there are severe problems with Afghanistan’s infrastructure to include severe electrical shortages and a sputtering economy, these are problems that pre-dated the toppling of the Taliban and all these problems are exceptionally less severe now than they were then.

You indicate that Sen. Hagel is courageous his criticism of the president, the courage of which escapes me since it seems to be the national pastime, but he lends nothing to support his claim that Iraq is “sucking the oxygen out of [Afghanistan]”.  In the past year that I have been in Afghanistan I have never been short the resources required to accomplish the mission at hand and certainly have never been told, “Sorry, you can’t have that, we need it for Iraq”.  Just because the media and hence the American population as a whole may have lost focus on Afghanistan, doesn’t mean the military has and to make people believe that is the case is irresponsible at best.

Ironically, in the same paragraph that you accuse the president of a “numerical cavalcade” you yourself skew the casualty numbers beyond recognition when you claims nearly 100 U.S service members lost to the Taliban led insurgency.  First, while there were 99 U.S. service members lost in Afghanistan in 2005, 33 of them were due to non-hostile related causes. ( http://www.icasualties.org/oef/ )  Of the 66 who died as a result of hostility, at least 30 were in eastern Afghanistan in or near the Kunar province region.  This is important because it points out the ignorance of your professed knowledge of the Afghanistan conflict.  The Taliban is a fanatical organization based on Muslim Extremism.  It is, however, a culturally significant portion of the Afghan population and as such is, in part and parcel, being offered a piece of the political restructuring of this country much as the Sunni muslims are in Iraq.  Violence at the hands of the Taliban is historically centered around their religious center of gravity in the Kandahar region in Southern Afghanistan.  The vast majority of the hostility in the Eastern Afghanistan is at the hands of foreign fighters.  These are not insurgents, they are terrorists who infiltrate this coutry from across the Pakistan border.  There is a vast difference.

Your tirade on the reduction of both aid and troops to Afghanistan is anathema to your attempted conclusion of a faltering U.S.policy here.  The number of troops in Afghanistan is dropping because responsibility is being handed over to the NATO led ISAF.  50% of the country is already under ISAF control and within a few months it will be 75%.  Of course the amount of aid is being decreased, it is inversely proportionate to the international community’s increase in support.  Walk down the street at Bagram Airfield or sit in any one of the dining facilities and you will see French, German, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Polish, Romanian, Slovakian, and Korean troops as well as those from a host of other countries.  The Chinese are rebuilding roads to the east, the Germans have control of the northern regions,Jordan still runs a hospital in the north, Spain and Italy have control in the west, and Canadians will soon be moving into the south. This is what it looks like when the job is nearing completion and is being handed over.

It sounds, Ms Huffington, as though is disappointed that we are completing the mission here and getting out since you will have less ammunition to sling at the Bush Administration.  Glad to disappoint.

I am similarly confounded by your lambasting of the President for taking a “hands-off” approach to the alleged drug kingpins in the recently elected parliament.  I can only ask what you would have written if the Bush Administration had directed the removal of duly elected Afghan members of parliament in the first free election in more than 30 years.    It is not a surprise to me that your cited source of information is Newsweek, the same publication that caused riots across this country and were responsible for 16 civilian deaths with their flawed story on the desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay.  Remember, these are the people who have unbridled access to the Taliban leadership and will not share their information with the military because they are journalists before they are Americans.

Of all the mis-statements and half-truths in this column though, the thing that is most indicative of your flawed perspective is the last sentence.  Let me see if I understand this.  If we keep troops in a combat zone we are in a quagmire, an unwinnable war.  If we pull troops out, we are cutting and running.  Make up your mind, you can’t have it both ways.  How about this: we keep troops in the combat zone until they are no longer required and then pull them out as their mission is completed.

Afghanistan is a success story Ms. Huffington.  Do the research next time before you try to spin something that clearly doesn’t have the legs to reach your objective.

Comments

[CaliValleyGirl]

Well, Arianna isn't really known for her great intuition and good choices. I mean, first she married millionaire Michael Huffington, and helped run his campaign for Senate...when he lost, they divorced. He came out of the closet, and she turned to the left (even though she calls herself a "progressive"...whatevers...basically she opens her mouth, and makes noises, but it's all chicken scratch to me.

I think it's a same that Stars and Stripes even published the article.

[The Sniper]

The U.S. medias defeatist victor's-guilt attitude is unavoidable.
I'm glad to hear things go reasonably well in Afghanistan.

The problem with Huffington's article is that it provides no solutions for what ought to be done. Even if it were based on correct information, Ms. Huffington has no solutions to the supposed problems.

[Maggie]

I followed a link from "The Officer's Club" to get here.
YOU ARE FABULOUS!!!!!!!

[Household6]

This is the same Huffington who runs the Huffington post blog. She speaks of allowing for blog authors from all sides of the fence, but not really.

I stopped reading the Huffington Post the 5th time a response I had was not published. It was logical and in oposition Of Moonbat's post. (Yes Moonbat has become an author there) Apparently, only the loon responses of the opposition were being posted.

So look at the source, creditable it's not.

HH6

[SK]

Thank you for posting this, and for writing it in the first place. Every time you post something of this nature, you are helping educate someone else who stops by to read. Including me!

[Guy A. Snyder]

Thanks, Great Response!

[Janet]

Dear Firepower!!!!

Wonderful, fabulous, incredible and for Arianna, well deserved!!! Your blog says Firepower 5 but in this case surely it is 5 times 10!!! Thank-you for telling it like it is and making us so unbelievably proud of all that you and our troops are doing for us in the GWOT, Afghanistan sector.

Any time I get down at what is said and done here at home, I can be guaranteed to find a member of our military in harm's way, to put my mood back on the mountain top. With no reflection on our wonderful WWII service men and women, THIS has got to be the finest military we have ever had the good fortune to represent us in the toughest war we have ever faced. God bless every one of you. Stay safe and keep on blogging!

[Maggie45]

I agree totally with Janet. And thank you, Pam, for supporting this guy. We need many more like the two of you!! God bless you.

[MissBirdlegs in AL]

Good smack-down, Major! We are surrounded by "journalists" who don't know their butts from a hole in the ground. They just make noise because they can & people who don't know better believe everything they say. It's sickening!

[Redhead Infidel]

The Huffington broad won't get it because you included too many facts in your letter. The truth is wasted on the likes of her.

Well said, though - as many times as it needs to be said.

Linked!

[Nick]

Strong work, F5. She has been well and truely schooled. I came over from Kit & Heidi's place at Euphoric Reality, by the way. Thanks for your service & be safe.

[Lisa Gilliam]

Good for you Major,HuffPuffinstuff needed someone to take the steam out of her.She grated on me when she was on the right,now that she is a hard leftists,she is even worse.

[toni]

Dang, that was good. Too bad the idiot will never see or read it. Ignorance is a permanent state of mind with those of her ilk.