Afghanistan

It is difficult to articulate the case against the occupation of Afghanistan if one is not ready to accept some stark and unpleasant realities. Top shelf: (1) that whatever the ideals of liberal internationalism, or neoconservatism, or any arguments for nation building, this sort of thing doesn't "work" without a great deal of innocent blood, and seldom works at all in the long run; (2) that a withdrawal will result in large sections of Afghanistan being run by fundamentalist totalitarians who keep women in a state of permanent servitude, enforced with floggings and occasional executions--though there's no guarantee our continued occupation will prevent that or not result in equivalent brutality.