Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
The cost of extracting any resources out of Afghanistan doesn't balance against the costs of securing the area.
I don't know if you can perpetually fight a war there just to keep Al Qaeda busy any more either since Al Qaeda or what's left of it is more prolific in Pakistan and other middle east countries.
The Taliban and al Qaeda will always be in lockstep.
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Balancing the costs isn't important. The government could spend 10 to 1 on the costs of the war against the commercial rewards and big industry would be more than happy. Still I agree that wasn't the main motivation for going into Afghanistan.
My money is on the Taliban having a good chance of regaining control of that country if the US pulls out and than the al Qaeda will again have a safe base to train and grow their brand. Dangerous business.
Your post #6 already says along the lines of what I was thinking. As long as the US can keep bases in Pakistan to run their drones at the al Qaeda, they should be able to control the situation somewhat.