Who was that woman?

A surprise guest swept the decks and took on all callers about the controversial history of Afghanistan and the American military presence there. This was a no-holds-barred discussion where film maker and deep researcher, Melissa Roddy, called in and commanded the show's discussion on this controversial issue at hand in American foreign policy. My blog is: www.afghan-info.blogspot.com. Since taking office, President Barack Obama and his envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, have both complained about the inadequacy of intelligence and the United States' incoherent policy in the region. The stakes cannot be overstated. That is why I have decided to go public before completion of my film. Though accurate numbers are difficult to obtain, it is estimated that, from the fall of the communist government in 1992 to the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, between 400,000 and 1.5 million Afghans were killed. If the US and NATO forces withdraw before Afghanistan has recovered enough economically and militarily to defend itself against the 30 something-year-old (and ongoing) assault from Pakistan, it is anticipated that devastation on that same scale will be repeated. Because the Bush Administration so dramatically underfunded and understaffed the campaign in Afghanistan for the past 8 years, many Afghans came to believe that Bush was pro-Taliban. Because of this, President Obama is correct in his assessment that this is really not year eight, but rather, Year One. The President wants to grant the U.S. Army's request for an additional 20,000 soldiers for Afghanistan, in an effort to correct the mistakes of the Bush II Administration. However, it is clear that he is under intense political pressure to back away from this position. It is important to help him withstand that pressure and do what's best for both the U.S. and Afghanistan. We're going to be hearing more from Melissa Roddy again on Radio Free Kansas, but listen to her now.