> Just remember what happened in 1980 when we backed the brave,
> ruthless, cruel mujahedin against the Soviet Union. We gave them money
> and weapons and promised them political support once the Russians
> left. There was much talk, I recall, of "loya jergas", and even a
> proposal that the then less elderly king might be trucked back to
> Afghanistan. And now this is exactly what we are offering once again.
Isn't another unintended consequence of the earlier policy in Afghanistan and of the policies urged on Russia following the collapse to which the policy in Afghanistan contributed that the mentality responsible for the acts of September 11th, a mentality which appears to be much more widespread than say Hitchens and Tariq Ali allow and which may intensify and spread in consequence of the kind of response so enthusiastically endorsed by Hitchens, now has much easier access to weapons of mass destruction?
Ted