It appears a bailout will be necessary.

The money’s peanuts compared to the costs of the war, but it illustrates for the zillionth time how pointless and hopeless the nation building idea is in a place that’s little more than a collection of warring tribes.

Gorilla says: “Let’s ship them the Fed Board of Governors and throw in Hank Paulson, then they’ll know what ridiculous means!”

What’s profoundly stupid in all this is that no one in CIA human resources seems to realize that they’re getting nothing for the money: no functioning government, no defeat of the Taliban, no real control over most of the country, and no end in sight to another pointless war.

Gorilla asks: “When we will get qualified employers?”

A top level official being investigated for corruption is, wait for it!, also on the CIA payroll!!!

And another priceless quote from the usual anonymous American official:

“If you want intelligence in a war zone, you’re not going to get it from Mother Teresa or Mary Poppins.”

Gorilla says: “And you’re not going to get it from the Afghan or US governments either!”

Apparently, when you’re the country that created and now shields the Taliban from US forces, you’re expecting a lot more than lip service!!!

And this is yet another illustration of how pointless the war in Afghanistan has become: we’re funding both sides, whether through arms sales to Pakistan or heroin purchases from the various Afghan warlords who actually control most of the country.

Gorilla says: “There are only floods in this vale of tears!!!”

It’s all about not having enough troops, and making a buck on misery, but nobody bothers to ask any questions in DC, so why be good?

Gorilla says: “Semper fi is the new profit high!”

“Their argument,” said one senior administration official, who would not speak for attribution about the internal policy discussions, “is that while we’ve been in Afghanistan for 9 years, only in the past 12 months or so have we started doing this right, and we need to give it some time and think about what our long-term presence in Afghanistan should look like.”

It’s an absolute travesty, and eerily reminiscent of Vietnam. Why these clowns haven’t been shown the door is beyond understanding.

Hundreds of billions and thousands of lives have been poured down the rathole and we have absolutely nothing to show for it.

We’ve never captured the people who planned 9/11.

al-Qaeda’s not in Afghanistan at all, it’s in Pakistan.

The same general who didn’t do things right in the first 9 years is now ready to keep on trying.

The facts on the ground are that we cannot defeat the Taliban because we do not have enough troops, the Afghan government is both totally ineffective and corrupt, we’re financing both sides through the heroin trade, and there is no clear understanding whatever of either the mission or the exit strategy.

Gorilla says: “A joke, but no one’s laughing: 9 years of losing and now these idiots want time to lose some more!!!”

NATO’s not killing as many, but the insurgents are killing more.

In the end, it’s hard to see how we “win”, when there wouldn’t be much killing at all if we weren’t there.

Gorilla says: “Security means more than killing them so they don’t kill you!”

It’s a curious irony that the mosque in question became a magnet for Jihadniks worldwide, some of whom apparently went back to Afghanistan and Pakistan to wreak havoc on those countries.

Gorilla says: “When you can’t invade Hamburg, your troops become hamburger!”

What’s it all about?

Yes, it’s a good thing if people want to help their fellow human beings, particularly in poor countries.

But no, sending Christian aid workers to a Muslim country wracked by civil war is the height of stupidity.

When religions do their bit, and they do it everywhere, the problem is that it’s seen by the local bad guys and good guys alike for what it is: an attempt to bring their beliefs into play.

Alas, there aren’t many nonbelievers wishing to risk their lives in Afghanistan, but that’s mainly because the hearts and minds thing has been a total failure.

Gorilla says: “Take out the god thing, and it’s still a godawful mess!”