November 27, 2009     Permalink Afghanistan as A Snare, Trap, or Trick Designed to Weaken U.S. Submitted by Susan Strong

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Afghanistan as Sports Event, Sexual Fantasy and Detour From the Hero's Journey: .ly/4AVQQG

Rob Kall's piece on ways the Afghan war can be sold to Americans covers all of the ways that work. And it's true that in the hero's journey, triumphant return requires outwitting or avoiding all efforts to stop his or her success. Some ways this can be said using common American story motifs are these: Afghanistan is a trap Al Qaeda and Bin Laden set for us, a snare, a trick designed to bleed us dry, to weaken us, to wear us and our economy down, and so defeat us, while ensuring we enrage Muslims worldwide. Think about it--why did Bin Laden choose a country no one has ever conquered for his training operations? (This is also true for the area of Pakistan Al Qaeda is in now.) The only way we can win this one is not to fall any further into Bin Laden's trap--to outwit him by avoiding a long drawn out struggle in Afghanistan by reducing our involvement there until we are clear of the trap.