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Condi Rice: Abandon Afghanistan If You Want Another Terrorist Attack
Ben Frumin | September 22, 2009, 11:36AM
Former Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice
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Former Bush Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has a pretty sharp message for Democratic lawmakers who don't want to send more U.S. troops to an unpopular war in Afghanistan that seems to be getting worse.
"If you want another terrorist attack in the U.S., abandon Afghanistan," she said.
Those comments appear in a rather fawning story by FORTUNE's Nina Easton. Rice said:
The last time we left Afghanistan, and we abandoned Pakistan that territory became the very territory on which Al Qaeda trained and attacked us on September 11th. So our national security interests are very much tied up in not letting Afghanistan fail again and become a safe haven for terrorists.
Rice also had a prediction on Iran. She described the regime there as "vulnerable right now."
I don't know whether it's a year from now or five years from now, but that regime is done.
Read the whole story here.
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fbacon2
September 22, 2009 12:05 PM
World to Condi: Go away.
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KeithL
September 22, 2009 12:13 PM
Who could have predicted! that the SS Condoleeza Rice would be FOR more war? WOW! They sure are the party of new ideas!
HEY CONDI! There's a big sale on Ferragamos this week. Stick with what you know!
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Winston Smith
September 22, 2009 12:15 PM
Fuck you, Condi. She did such a great job as NSA and Secretary of State that we should all be hanging on her every word. Besides, in the minds of some people, ending military action doesn't necessarily mean abandoning them. Talk about a one-trick-pony!
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converse
September 22, 2009 12:17 PM
"...that territory became the very territory on which Al Qaeda trained and attacked us on September 11th..."
This lady is very confused. The attacks happened in the United States. And it's not like they don't have plenty of other places where they can train.
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slb
September 22, 2009 12:55 PM in reply to converse
Exactly. If they're not in Afghanistan, they will be in Pakistan, or in Somalia, or some other third world country where they can operate outside the reach of a strong central government. We can't very well occupy the entire third world.
I'm still up in the air on what I think we should do about Afghanistan, but it bothers me greatly that the arguments for maintaining a military presence there, for escalating that presence, no less, sound a lot like the arguments for doing the same in Vietnam in the late 1960s. And we know how that story turns out. And we also know that the hawks who issued dire warnings about what would happen if we didn't continue the war turned out to be mistaken.
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converse
September 22, 2009 1:36 PM in reply to slb
Do counter-terrorism strikes instead of counter-insurgency and nation-building occupation. Put ALL resources into getting Bin Laden and his top cohorts, wherever they are.
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fcleff
September 22, 2009 1:11 PM in reply to converse
"...that territory became the very territory on which Al Qaeda trained and attacked us on September 11th..."
Gee, I seem to remember Condi and the rest of the Bush admin. telling us it was Iraq that was the breeding ground for the Sept. 11 attacks. Funny how, now that she is out of legal reach, her memory clears.
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BrianSkuse
September 22, 2009 12:41 PM
Madame Secretary RIce walks around beautiful Stanford campus, free as the air, answering no questions under oath, unindicted ... it must be lovely for her.
Remember the 'Aluminum tubes' hoax ? Remember that story was debunked before it was resurrected and fed to the public ? Remember she lied and lied and lied ?
Rice : she told Knucklehead Bush ANYTHING to keep her position. What a disaster.
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CranialRectalLoopback
September 22, 2009 12:52 PM
Don't read the PDB if you want another terrorist attack! Let's interrogate her enhanced-like and find out what she really thinks.
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kaylaspop
September 22, 2009 1:14 PM
Bin Laden determined to strike in U.S. Remember that PDB? You were the NSA director.
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nfbloch
September 22, 2009 1:46 PM
Like she's been so right on everything else. I wish she'd crawl back into her cave and stay there.
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drv
September 22, 2009 2:04 PM
And who's talking about "abandoning Afghanistan" anyway?
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Inkberries
September 22, 2009 2:07 PM
For all her foreign policy experience, she makes a great piano player.
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rbe1
September 22, 2009 2:39 PM
Time to sail the SS Condoleezza Rice into the Bermuda Triangle and disappear, Condi ol girl !
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31tudor
September 22, 2009 3:26 PM
Imagine that, Rice is still working for the oil companies.
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Frex
September 22, 2009 3:57 PM
Of course staying in Afghanistan doesn't guarantee a terrorist attack. Staying in Afghanistan doesn't get rid of Al Qaeda as they now have a safe haven in Pakistan.
Let's see the logic here.
We need to stay in Afghanistan to:
- Keep a religious/political movement at bay, while local tribal leaders cut deals and allow them to operate freely.
- Support a president who is as legitimate as Iran's
- That president campaigned against the US occupation in the recent election.
- Our enemy is in a different country - Pakistan
- Pakistan's military/intelligence apparatus lends aid and comfort to the Afghan movement we oppose.
- Pakistan's military refuses to go after our enemy and limits our ability to do so ourselves.
- From a realist perspective, Afghanistan holds no strategic interest for the US.
George and Condi, what a mess you got us into.
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EdA
September 22, 2009 3:59 PM
"The last time we left Afghanistan, and we abandoned Pakistan," Condaleeza Rice is quoted as saying.
I -did- read the entire Fortune hagiography. And I have a couple of questions:
When was the LAST time we were in Afghanistan? I recall that when President Clinton sent missiles after Osama bin Forgotten the Republicans claimed he was trying to distract attention from Monica Lewinsky. But I'm not sure that bombing Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan BEFORE September 11 counts as being in Afghanistan.
And when was the last time we were in Pakistan?
And the terrorists only have to be right once. Which explains her incredibly vigorous efforts, month after month, to respond to Bill Clinton's and Richard Clarke's warnings about Osama bin Forgotten. But at least her wardrobe benefitted.
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Matt Jones
September 22, 2009 7:16 PM in reply to EdA
Certainly no fan of Condi, but here's an explanation of what she means by "the last time".
She means the actions of the US after the Soviets withdrew in 1988/1989. We (the US government) essentially told the Afghans to "figure it out" and stopped sending aid. She's being vague because being specific would make it clear that it was a Bush the First decision, which she's now arguing led to 9/11.
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ScottW
September 22, 2009 6:46 PM
If she would have only gave Bush the same advise we wouldn't be in there retaking what we already had. What we diregarded for Iraq, idiot.
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sbv
September 23, 2009 10:36 AM
this sounds like the same old "mushroom cloud" argument. these people think the american people are not only deaf, dumb and blind, but have a short memory as well!
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JohnW1141
September 23, 2009 11:42 AM
Listening to Condi Rice opine on foreign affairs would be like listening to Condi Rice opining on foreign affairs.
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