Valley News – Forum, August 19: collective blame for Afghanistan

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Posted: 08/18/2021 22:00:05 PM

Modified: 08/18/2021 22:00:10 PM

Collective blame for Afghanistan

Over the past three days, I have read dozens of articles and opinion pieces written by very intelligent people, from all political backgrounds and from various reputable sources, regarding the situation in Afghanistan.

What is clear to me is that none of these sources, no think tank, no newsroom, no expert, no party, no religion, no tactician, no analyst, no general, and most importantly no politician. ‘has any idea what we should have done, and only partial consensus on what we should do (aside from the short-term goal of getting all Westerners and other allies and Afghans who want to leave the country) .

Afghanistan presents one of the most intractable problems we have faced in this century.

When I add up all the blame thrown, at Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, at our professionals in government, at Congress, at the media, at the generals and everywhere else, I conclude that we are all guilty.

No one did that. We all created the debacle that became our longest war with the saddest ending.

To hold all those responsible via the firing squad accountable, we must stand in a great circle of shame and cry out fire, ordering whoever is blameless to pull the first trigger. There should be no smoking guns.

The best thing we can do right now is bow our heads in shame, be humbled, and then get back to work, hopefully with great clarity on what we can and cannot do, what we should and should not do, as the ruling nation of the free world. We have a complicated decade ahead of us.

Tim jennings

Enfield

Grateful for the work of DHMC staff

We are a member of a Grantham group of women (the Susie Stitchers) who made over 6,000 sheet masks between March and August 2020.

The angst expressed by Forum contributor Claudia Cozens-Hoffman (DHMC staff start and end the day by being yelled at on August 12) prompted us to write and say that we support her and her colleagues. .

We thank them all for their continued work on our behalf. Under the most difficult circumstances, and even in the face of protesters yelling at them, these dedicated healthcare workers have continued to provide the highest standard of care to all of us, whether or not we are vaccinated.

We also support the decision of the administration of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to make vaccination mandatory for all people working at DHMC. It’s the right thing to do!

By requiring vaccinations or regular testing, Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO, Joanne Conroy and her team recognized the need to protect the community by increasing the vaccination rate and in doing so reduce the risk of emergence. of a more virulent variant.

Thank you, Claudia Cozens-Hoffman and all DHMC employees.

JANE DEANE CLARK, DONNA MATSON, LINDA MARTIN and PATRICIA A. BROOKS

Grantham

This letter was also signed by 21 other members of the Susie Stitchers.

Our safety and that of others

We are required to wear a seat belt, not only for our own safety but for the safety of others. Getting vaccinated is for our safety, but more importantly, for the safety of others.

Most of the people who get sick and die are the ones who are not vaccinated. This could influence the 2022 elections.

JIM DAIGLE

Plainfield

Where is the concern for the Afghan refugees?

Do these great humanitarian workers from the Lebanese city council have any fashionable proclamations about the fall of Afghanistan? Many buzzwords are preparing to be raped, enslaved and slaughtered.

How much will we sponsor for urgent relocation? Has the mayor ever called the State Department? Oh I forgot. Here we care more about bike racks than sleeping space.

SARAH CRYSL AKHTAR

Lebanon

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