This Ain’t “Petticoat Junction” But Uncle Joe Is A-Movin’ Kinda Slow

Uncle Joe. He’s not on his best game. There’s a glaring problem he has decided to ignore. I think it’s a mistake, one which reaches long into the future.

At some point when U.S. military leaders wanted to begin the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Afghanistan, Pakistan refused to allow us passage. I don’t know whether that was ever resolved because judging by the events of the past week, I rather think not. And of course there’s the little detail about the last time the Taliban had control of Afghanistan; Pakistan recognized their rule.

And then there’s bin Laden, who’s passed from human being to shark shit to plankton by now. Maybe he’s coating the inside of a McDonald’s cup somewhere on the bottom of the South China Sea. That’d be poetic, wouldn’t it?

The government of Pakistan hid him. Oh, I doubt many civilians knew he was there. But the many accusations of the Pakistani government covering for terrorists, namely, the Taliban, persist to this day.

Since taking office, Biden has not so much as called PM Khan. While national security experts say that’s a good thing seeing as how that government has been two-faced in the past (they promised to stand with us after 9/11 but with friends like those, who needs enemies?) yet denied access to their ports after our forces became landlocked in Afghanistan. Obama may have seen no way around this situation diplomatically, and sent in his troop surge. I don’t know. All I know is that we always got our news updates late and Fox News and morons like Rush Limbaugh twisted everything; we were left confused and uninformed. That’s not even close to being right.

In my time here on Earth I have never dreamt of anything this bizarre. Or scary. The best thing to do now is to be diplomatic to Pakistan. India must be treated with utmost respect and care because they won’t like it. We must become what we claimed to be long ago.

Peace makers. Negotiators and diplomats, without bringing threats to the table. I’m not sure if it’s possible, but we must restore our honor that we fought so hard for in World War Two. It doesn’t require much intelligence to know this. If we can’t gain respect, we will see more attacks on our own soil. We will lose our influence, what remains of it, and as we approach the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we are coming very close to shitting on the graves of all who died that day.

There was no honor in revenge, but the Bush administration capitalized on our demand for it and this is where we are. Reports come in by the hour of women endangered or suspected to be already gcone. All single women, remember, are required (ages 14-38) to report to the Taliban for marriage arrangements. Translation: to become indentured, enslaved, abused for the rest of their lives. And we can’t stop that now.

And us? People on both political extremes wanted us out. Now all we do is bitch and point fingers.

It and more will be our undoing. Diplomacy can save us from ourselves. An absence of it will only see the Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS-K spread. And they will be unstoppable.

What about human rights is so fucking hard to understand?

New abortion laws have American women in a place not unlike those in Afghanistan. The SCOTUS will soon modify if not reverse Roe, and healthcare providers are whispering that even giving a woman routine OB/GYN exams might, in the not-too-distant future, land a doctor in prison.

Women, no matter where they live, are under attack.

What is the endgame?

Where is this leading us?

I hope I’m gone by then. I don’t want to see what happens next.