Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for April 20, 2012

Time for the sergeant to come home.

The military swore after Vietnam that in any future conflicts the flow of news would be much more tightly controlled. I wonder what the military establishment thinks about the media today doing it for them?

Those who do not learn from history are condemned to… ahhh never mind.

Roland can’t quite channel his inner Mike Wallace.

Hope all y’all remember 4-20 Day the way it was meant to be remembered.

Bring ’em home.

Ha..Like Trudeau would even have a clue as to how the U S military keeps us safe..

It’s Groundhog day!

The Taliban continues to retreat forwards every day. They have just retreated to the centre of Kabul.

Mowing the grass? Government in a box? Can someone translate the jargon for us civvies…?

‘Mowing the grass’ was the troops’ description of the sweeps out of their bases to engage with and kill Taliban fighters before pulling back again: just like mowing the grass it is a never-ending and ultimately pointless strategy.

‘Government in a box’ is what General McChrystal said the US were ready to roll out after the 2010 surge.

Have to admit I din’t know these, but it was interesting finding them!

“The Graveyard of Empires”…England and Russia immediately come to mind…and now the United States…wonder how China will deal with them?

Hush, yall. Roland is tweeting fer our freedoms.

Afghanistan can be won, by someone monstrous enough to depopulate it.

Yep – Insight from someone who probably doesn’t even watch FAUX. Well said

Cool. I feared that it was from the Bible, 1 John 4:20.

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

I’m glad that I’m not a believer, because, if this were true, we’d all be on a fast track to Hell.

Afghanistan – the “Graveyard of Empires” – including the U.S., unless we get out on schedule in 2014.But with Republicans saying we should stay in Afghanistan . . . and with Republicans saying that, in addition, we should support Israeli war with Iran . . . makes one pessimistic . . .

Doughfoot, Masterskrain: Thanks for the historical background — some things I was aware of, others not. What FriscoLou may or may not have had in mind is still up for grabs..As for the pot connection, that one was new to me; I’ve lived a sheltered life…even going to college in the sixties, I’ve never used. I was too much of a nerd for anyone to have offered me any, although I sure was around it…the aroma is, shall we say, unmistakeable. The might-have-beens, though, are interesting to think about. :J

:-D? Is that an illegal smile I see there?

That would be an improvement; at least it’s not a lie (sort of).

Maybe they could make their own suicide bomber out of Roland!

Time for Roland to step on an IED.

Even way back in the 60’s, during the Vietnam war, I always felt it was obvious why the Americans were going to lose. After all, what were they fighting for? Who could say? But the Vietnamis – like the Afghanis now – knew exactly what they were fighting for:THEIR HOMES! THEIR CULTURE! THEIR VERY EXISTENCE!

When did this feeling surface in the US? During 9/11. And then went back to sleep. Well, didn’t it?

What would they win in Afghanistan? How about the rights to several trillion dollars worth of minerals under the ground.