Ty (Con't): The comic paints Barack Obama, US president, as using the war to look manly. Isaiah, some might say, "Oh, that comic is offensive!"
Isaiah: Good. Let's hope a lot of people do. Let's hope a whole lot of people do. The 2,000 mark has been reached. I don't care how it's hammered home as long as people get the message. The death toll's at 2,000. How much higher does it have to go?
Ty: Do you feel that people pay attention to the Afghanistan War?
Isaiah: Not at all. And, thing is, the US media quit covering Iraq long ago. So you'd think people could make an effort -- media and public -- to follow the Afghanistan War. But that's not happening.
Ty: Anyone feel differently? Elaine?
Elaine: I, in my practice, I speak to a lot of veterans. I can tell you veterans -- of the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War -- are both aware of events in Afghanistan. Do I see that outside of those two groups? No, not really.
Ty: Anyone care to argue that point?
Kat: I don't think anyone can. The war's gone on for so long that it's basically exhausted the country's already short attention span.
Ty: Today on NBC's Meet The Press, David Gregory repeated the title the war has earned "The Forgotten War." Is it forgotten, do you think, just because it's gone on so long? Did everyone just get tired of it?
Mike: I don't think it's just people being weary. I think it's also that there's a feeling of what can you do? Not just because the war has gone on so long but because Barack's in the White House. You know these wimp asses, they won't protest Princess Barack. They're just a bunch of cowards who dream of sucking off the president, being their own little Monica Lewinsky. So they refuse to address what's going wrong and instead attack people who do address the crimes. And the Afghanistan War is an ongoing crime.
Cedric: Let's not forget also that Afghanistan turned into a mill for Guantanamo. People would turn over anyone to US authorities to get a reward. They weren't even terrorists. And yet Guantanamo remains open.
Kat: Right. If you asked the average person, "Why are US troops in Afghanistan?," most people couldn't give you an answer.
Elaine: They might try to toss out Osama bin Laden. First of all, Osama's dead. Second of all, the US attacked Afghanistan. The real record is that the US asked Afghanistan to turn over Osama and Afghanistan asked for some evidence that he was connected to 9-11. The US position, as expressed by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell was, 'Turn him over and then we'll provide you with our evidence.' Now if evidence had been turned over, the Taliban would have turned over Osama bin Laden. Instead of that happening, the US declared war on Afghanistan. 12 years later and there's nothing to show for it.
Cedric: And this after Barack did his own 'surge' and added 33,000 US troops on the ground in Afghanistan. And not a damn thing to show for it.
Ty: Except for the 2,000 death toll today. Isaiah?
Isaiah: I think it's worth pointing out that the death toll stood at 500 in December 2008. Barack is sworn in January 2009. In that time, 1500 US troops have died. Barack's got no plan for a win and should have had the guts to pull the troops out. But instead, he wanted to use them to shore up his weak ass image.
Kat: Agreed.
Cedric: It's also worth noting that a number of the dead are dead because they were killed by the US-trained Afghan cops or US-trained Afghan military. That says a great deal about how the United States is seen there.
Elaine: Equally worth pointing out is the puppet. In Iraq, the US puppet is Nouri al-Maliki. In Afghanistan, it's Hamid Karzai. Not only has he never controlled anything but the capital, Kabul, he was selected solely for what Big Oil and Gas thought he could provide them with.
Kat: That's an interesting point. I'm not sure how many people are aware of this but Afghanistan will hold presidential elections in 2014 -- or that's when they're scheduled to. That's the same year that Iraq is supposed to hold parliamentary elections -- and the results of Iraq's elections are supposed to determine who gets named prime minister-designate. So you've got two puppets who could be out of power in the same year.
Ty: Provided elections are held.
Kat: Yes, provided elections are held. Another thing Iraq and Afghanistan share is rampant corruption. In July, Karzai got some attention for his 'reform' proposals. But nothing's really come of it.
Cedric: The US government really does seem to favor corruption when selecting puppets.
Mike: True and probably because if you're corrupt it's easier to sway you and control you.
Ty: Elaine, we need to wrap up, I'll let you have the last word.
Elaine: It's amazing because we didn't even touch on the drug trade. You really need to talk drugs when you talk Afghanistan. CNN reported at the start of this month on Karzai selecting a new Intelligence Chief for the country and, wouldn't you know it, he's accused of not just trafficking in drugs but also torture. I think that tells us everything we need to know about the ruler the United States has propped up.
Ty: Well said. And on that note, we'll conclude. This is a rush transcript.