Dennis Kucinich is one of the few US politicians I can stand to listen to. I’ve often thought that we’d be a better country today if the 2004 election had been between Kucinich and Ron Paul, instead of the two schmucks that actually ran. What if the American people were offered a choice between meaningfully different views of domestic policy, instead of two different flavors of corporate toadying wrapped in smugly self-serving patriotism? I like the fiery populism of Kucinich, even though he’s more conventionally left-wing than I’ll ever be.
Anyway, Kucinich released a statement about NATO in which he pointed out that they were created to unify Western Europe and the USA against the Soviet bloc, which no longer exists. Kucinich says NATO primarily functions today as an expensive mechanism for war-mongering, and that the war in Afghanistan is not ending, despite claims to the contrary from the Obama administration.
The Strategic Partnership Agreement between the U.S. and Afghanistan commits us to the country for at least another decade, despite public support for the war being at an all time low. The United States will pay for half of the estimated $4.1 billion per year cost of supporting 352,000 Afghan army and police officers. Afghanistan’s contribution will be $500,000. The rest will be financed by our ‘NATO partners.’