# The Vietnam solution in Afghanistan... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 13, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116 "2001-11-13T14:54:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FriendRob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecc23a/32.png) [@FriendRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendRob)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/1 "2001-11-13T14:54:26Z")
…declare victory and pull out? Now that the Taliban are out of Kabul, is it possible/desirable/feasible to stop the war? What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/2 "2001-11-13T15:58:21Z")
Speaking from the Heartland here, if Bush pulls out now, he’s gonna have a whole lot of Workin’ Folks asking crossly, “Where’s Osama?” The whole point of the exercise, as stated publicly many times, was to capture Osama. If we quit now, well, shucks, might’s well shut down the rest of the Pentagon, sell the F-15s for scrap, and admit that Uncle Sam ain’t got the cojones to stand tall amongst the nations of the world no more. And, if we quit now, it’ll look like we caved on the Ramadan thing. So, to address the OP: No. ---
**Author:** ![Alister75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/958977/32.png) [@Alister75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alister75)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/3 "2001-11-13T16:53:01Z")
Agreed. He cannot pull us out now. Actually, we better not be pulled out until we either have the corpse of Bin Ladin or real good proof that he is hiding in another nation and even then, we had better head into that place to kick butt until we get him. America can’t go through all of this and come up empty handed because the loss of face will be enormous and the Muslim nations will gain status. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/4 "2001-11-13T17:47:50Z")
Wouldn’t hat be a rip if the Northern Alliance said “We can’t find him and we ain’t gonna let ya’ll in here to look your ownself”? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/5 "2001-11-13T23:05:26Z")
Running the Taliban out of Kabul is the rough equivalent of running all the Texans out of Washington, DC. Where did they all go? Back to Texas, of course, where the Texans remain Texans. We did a reasonably good job so far, but that was the easy part. Now, the Northern Alliance is unlikely to want to pursue the Taliban into their own home turf, and politically, the Taliban appears to have a pretty decent hold on the Pashtun territories of south Afghanistan. If I had to put money on it, I’d have to say that our (Gavrilo Princip)al suspect is there, too. Exactly how we’re going to pry them loose from the southern territories, I do not know, but it seems to me there is more damage to be done by bailing out at this crucial juncture than by seeing it through. The U.S. has a decent chance of creating a workable solution in Afghanistan only by getting the Pashtuns to agree to a coalition government. Don’t get them on board, and Afghanistan remains unstable. Do get them on board, and there’s the possibility of lasting peace in the region, however small. The byproduct of that may well be a few sought-after heads in a basket, which is what I want. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/6 "2001-11-14T23:00:11Z")
“wouldn’t be prudent at this juncture” ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/7 "2001-11-15T00:42:09Z")
Oh, good lord! _Kneeling on floor… cutting off pony tail… brushing last poetic thoughts onto rough paper…_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/8 "2001-11-15T00:56:52Z")
While I’m glad to see the Taliban driven out of Kabul, I don’t think this is over by a long shot. I fully expect the Taliban to mount a guerilla war from the mountains of Afghanistan. I also think the U.S.A. must maintain some level of involvement in Afghanistan not only to ensure that the new government is not involved in terrorism, but to ensure that it treats its people halfway decently. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Stewart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Dave\_Stewart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Stewart)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vietnam-solution-in-afghanistan/93116/9 "2001-11-15T01:19:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FriendRob \* > \*\*…declare victory and pull out? > > Now that the Taliban are out of Kabul, is it possible/desirable/feasible to stop the war? What do you think? \*\* Yeah, I agree with **Duck Duck Goose**. If not for that pesky Osama, the US could say, “We achieved the objective - we are going home now.” Securing Kabul isn’t the same as eliminating the threat of the Taleban, but it is symbolic of wresting control from them. If he’d been killed in the air strikes, I think it would be game over.