Christopher Hitchens - 'Is Afghanistan Worth The Price?' (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

[milekrizman]

We should translate 'God is not great' on Pashto and Dari languages and distribute it to every household in Afghanistan and western Pakistan.

[PilateTS]

I would argue that Hitch is wrong. The amount of heroin being farmed, and then brought to the US by the CIA. Then proper diplomatic action with all the countries bordering Afghanistan would collapse the country on its own. Finally, Usama Bin Laden is or was a CIA operative.

[andromidius]

@PilateTS Osame wasn't a member of the CIA, but he had friends in the CIA in the 80's.

[andromidius]

@andromidius Osama*

[CorrinTamajb163]

hmz ich bin total naja wie soll ich sagen reich

[moroney1]

ITs odd, for a man who looked liked the youngest 60 year old ever, cancer treatment really did age him considerably

[bfoaliali]

Christopehr gave this guy his time . . . ?

[IconsOfTeleplay]

He's another blood-lusting warmonger.

[CrysaniaIV]

I LOVE how the interviewer tries to set up Christopher Hitchens to give sound-byte answers that would sound good to a neo-con (5:35), and Hitchens doesn't bite at all, but gives a great answer concerning the utilization of resources for Afghans in the form of farming opiates. Hitchens is truly a humanist, and not so easily manipulated, you foolish boy!

[Reptile0000]

hmm very interesting, of course Afghanistan is known as ''graveyard of empires'' and no one has ever rule that nation, so its worth it not to give up as he said someone has to

[hectorreyesLIVE]

Hitchens just presents and delivers with clarity and fact like so few others I have ever heard. Hes a wealth of knowledge and experience.

[linkmymuffin]

Why is he not a politician?

[Easleytee]

Read Bacevitch on Afghanistan. Far more poignant and politically sound than Hitchens' screed.

[NorthCitySider]

I've fallen in love with this man. He is not stupid in any way. He really knows his stuff. He is aware of that the CIA had a lot to do with getting the Baathists into power in Iraq and helping the Taliban forces in their fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. I love how he defined where we should stop with our wars and foreign policy. It should be the countries that we have directly impacted, not ALL of them. I am still against Iraq though, for now atleast.

[LeoRikimaru]

I've come to the conclusion that the reasons that Chris believes the war was necessary and the reasons Bush actually did it are entirely different.

For Chris it is humanitarian, he doesn't care about any hidden motives the government may have. To him, what matters is people aren't being tortured anymore. That a mistake made in the past has been corrected.

For George Bush it was purely profitable. Note that George had a big stake in the oil company who got the rights to drill.

[DrCruel]

@LeoRikimaru I generally agree with you, although I think you overemphasize the presence of oil. Realize that the people running the US participation in the Iraq rebuilding program (and that's what it is - the "war" portion is over) profit enormously - not from Iraqi exports, but from contracting and the access this gives such people to US tax revenue. There has been tremendous graft and corruption since Day One.

I suggest that the American welfare bureaucracy can be characterized similarly.

[LeoRikimaru]

@DrCruel Makes sense. I wish Chris would make the distinction that he was purely in it to help the people, not the Bush administration.

I don't understand why he has to be liberal or conservative, can't he just be humanitarian?

Whats your opinion on 9/11 by the way? Something was definitely up wasn't it? I mean I'm not claiming to know exactly what went on but too much just didn't add up there.

[DrCruel]

@LeoRikimaru If there was a "conspiracy", it would likely be some Marxists helping al Qaeda in the planning.

I've a unique perspective, one that makes me disinclined to agree with most 9-11 conspiracy theorists. I was in the active US military at the time, and personally knew some of the soldiers who conducted rescue ops in the wreckage of the Pentagon. A plane definitely hit the building. They found parts of the jet engine. It was no missile, as some theorists claim.

[mammers11]

@DrCruel Marxists? That's beyond silly. In fact, it sounds like a Tom Clancy book.

[DrCruel]

@mammers11 If it was a Tom Clancy book, Marxists likely would be the ultimate villains.

[onooweroo]

We must stay in Afghanistan to impose secular values whether they like it or not because we helped them to evivt the Soviets

[Dgoosh1000]

People should read some off the comments made by some doosh on pages 2-3.

Everyone needs to stand for Hitchens and against people like that guy.

Please dont just look over them, read them properly, they are reprehensable

[writersblock26]

Thank you for posting this, rferlonline.

[zissumanter]

Decision is made "This war is a test of will that we can't lose" is the bottomline of this interview.

[iliveon]

Hitchens, we love you bro. Still haven't finished the third chapter of your book tho. Go buy it!

[Territomauvais]

He proves over and over again that we need politicians like him. Except with people like him politics would be pretty awesome because we as a people would be making lots of fucking progress...together <3

[Aprilwritessongs]

he's doin just fine.. cause he loves me.



[darkillity]

This is who once was one of the most prominent leftists writing beautifully against American imperialism. Now he's nothing less than a cheap neo-con, defending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has even the nerve to say how British-occupied India was actually "beneficial" to the country.

[LeoRikimaru]

@darkillity I've come to the conclusion that the reasons that Chris believes the war was necessary and the reasons Bush actually did it are entirely different.

For Chris it is humanitarian, he doesn't care about any hidden motives the government may have. To him, what matters is people aren't being tortured anymore. That a mistake made in the past has been corrected.

For George Bush it was purely profitable. Note that George had a big stake in the oil company who got the rights to drill.

[sixtiksix]

It's great that he's setting policy. We should have been listening to him since World War One....would have saved a whole lot of trouble....

[milekrizman]

@hexcane Sign on a toilet in Srebrenica by CULTURAL DUTCH OR ENGLISHMEN: 'WHAT IS IT, SMELLS LIKE SHIT AND NO TEETH? ANSWER: BOSNIAN GIRL'.

This sign on a toilet in Srebrenica during the war, made ny CULTURAL WESTEUROPEANS TELLS A LOT ABOUT EUROPE. Oh, I'm a british gentleman, I'm not a savahe Croat, Bosniak or Serb, they are savages. We, englishman are on the other hand gentle, mild aristocrats.

You allowed Dubrovnik and Vukovar to be bombed!!!

SHAME ON YOU!!!

[milekrizman]

@hexcane Majority of Croats were antifascists. It is like that I instead of Winston Churchill I mention fascist Mosley who wanted to turn Britain in a nazi state. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT UN PEACEKEEPING FORCES, mostly Britons, Canadians and Dutch only came to Bosnia to drink booze with chetniks and to FUCK LITTLE BOSNIAN GIRLS - THIS IS CULTURAL EUROPE I PRESUME - DRINKING BOOZE WITH CHETNIKS AND FUCKING IN THE ASS LITTLE BOSNIAN GIRLS - NICE, RALLY NICE. WAY TO GO EUROPE!!!

[milekrizman]

@hexcane European forces never attacked Serbia, they were always for the Serbs, because Serbs were allies of Antanta in WWI. Only in late 1995. did Clinton ordered areal bombing of Serbian ground forces. Majority of Croats were antifascists. Yes, it's true we had a nazi racist bandist - the Ustashe - who killed thousands of innocent Serbs, Jews, Roma people, but ALSO CROATS WHO WERE AGAINST NAZI PUPPET STATE OF ANTE PAVELIC (or Anthony Paulson in english). Tito was of croat origin.

[milekrizman]

@hexcane Well in my country - Croatia - is living a Serb minority. They wanted to stay in union with motherland Serbia by taking croatian and bosnian land and making genocide on Croats and Bosniaks.

So, pall, after we liberated OUR COUNTRY, these bearded and drunken savages escaped to their homeland.

It is WELL KNOWN FACT that european countries, especially UK and France wanted for Serbs to win the war. They declared that all ethnic groups are savages and they were for Serbs.

Thank a lot UK!

[milekrizman]

@hexcane I agree with You. Kemal Ataturk and his Young Turks mad Anatolia turkish, although other ethnic groups lived there for millenia. I agree that Cyprus is Greek, Turks were settled there in 16. or 17. century.

Greeks are original inhabitants of Cyprus. Concerning Anatolia, Greeks agreed that they are going to live in Greece and they fled to Greece, so as Turks from Europe in Anatolia. It was population exchange.

[milekrizman]

@hexcane OK, well we will divide UK in 3 states - Scotland, Wales and England. Northern Ireland will be left to Ireland, because it is not natural diving one island in two half. Oliver Cromwell made a genocide in 17. century by relocation large number of Scottish and English people in Ulster, making it british.

So, ok let's divide UK as Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia in 1990's - I hope without any blood shed.

[milekrizman]

I would really like to contact this man! He is a cultural icon and my personal idol. He is a true spokesman of enlightement.

[siegfriedfreud1984]

@milekrizman Its actually quite easy to contact him. I did so myself a few years ago and he was kind enough to answer my question. Though for obvious reason, totday it is less likely to receive an answer.

[milekrizman]

@siegfriedfreud1984 I writed him to his e-mail. but he didn't answered. I understand that. The cancer is the greatest thing he has to face now.

[siegfriedfreud1984]

@milekrizman Its a good thing you wrote him anyway, I am sure he will take confort in the support of his humanist fans. Lets hope that he will be around for quite a few years to come.

[milekrizman]

@siegfriedfreud1984 I said that Iraq should adopt Sumerian and Kurdish languages as official languages, instead of Arabic. Because Sumerians are original inhabitants of Iraq and they invented writing and wheel. Iraqi Arabs are in fact arabized Sumerians. So, I hope that for 10-20 years we will see reviving of Sumerian in Iraq!

[ReadingMostly]

@milekrizman If you type "Vanity Fair Letters To Christopher Hitchens" into google the top result should be a page where you can send a message through their website. Though obviously not his direct contact info.

[milekrizman]

@ReadingMostly I asked a person who maintains his channel on YouTube for his private e-mail and he gave me. But I didn't get any answer. I'll try Your way. Thanks mate :)

[glower125]

@milekrizman you are just an idiot..i can't even start responding to your ignorance, but i hope the black south africans reconsider their forgiveness and kill all of you racist trash zionists cunts and purify the country from the jew virus.

[LowleyUK]

@glower125 How you can call somebody racist and then in the very same sentence use the words "jew virus" is beyond me.

[blobvision]

@milekrizman It's time for all of us to take the torch and aspire to be the erudite Hitchens was. That's what he truly wanted.

[raggedclown]

Looking at him you think, he's so ill, so weak, what a tragedy... Then he opens his mouth, and he's the same brilliant Christopher.

[writersblock26]

@raggedclown Agreed.

[andromidius]

@raggedclown To be fair, he looks better here then some 'healthy' 60 year old men! I was suprised when I found out his age a few years back. But yes, still the same great mind on the inside. He doesn't even have a hint of urgency, even though he knows his time is short. He's taking his time, being articulate, making his thoughts perfectly clear. Really awe inspiring.

[mik99D]

Hold on a minute!!!!! Ive been arguing this for years and Christopher just stole it from me, the bastard!. Buy the opium at a higher rate (say $10 per kilo) send it back here and process it into morphine. Two birds one stone.

[benaberry]

Brilliant man!

[milekrizman]

The problem is that in the late 19. century British and Russians made Durand line and divided Afghanistan and British India through Sulaiman mountains. The border should have been Indus and Kabul river - west of Indus are Afghanistan (Pashtuns) and Balochis, eastern of Indus river (Sindh and Punjab) is India and part of Pakistan north of Kabul river is also India (Gilgit-Baltistan).

Pashtuns and Balochi people are Iranian people, east of them live Indo-Aryans and Dardic people.

[mik99D]

@milekrizman Correct. We British have a lot to answer for- throughout the world today including Isreal.

[yakuza49]

Consistently brilliant, articulate, convincing and remarkably terse, men like him are a rarity, and my mind hurts just looking at all those books.

[islamophobe5]

get well chris and happy new year to u bro

[djguy100]

Damm, what happened to him? Is he sick?

[LowleyUK]

@djguy100 Yeh, he has terminal oesophageal cancer. Its tragic but he is coping in a very dignified manner if you ask me.

[ultramanprime9]

Listen...he's endorsing the Obama policy! Leave a war you can't win and begin a war you can. ( "subversive tactics") guerilla warfare! Finally Chris is understanding the "art of war". It is what it is....because it works.

We should have done this yrs ago. Leave...give them some territories....then kill them when they get established. Using the Free cities as examples. But he forgets that they will do the same in the cities. Never ending war is as the anti-war left says is wrong as never ending!

[michaelcjordan]

He has actually been looking pretty young. He is in his 60's and before this cancer situation, he looked extremely young for his age.

[navidlocoloco]

damn he aged 10 years during the past few months.

[EliteKiller07]

@navidlocoloco

Yep. That's usually what cancer does to you... ;-(

[writersblock26]

@navidlocoloco Sadly, that is what cancer, at least most kinds of it, does to people. The only exception I can think of is possibly breast cancer. (I say that as the son of someone who survived it.)

[ultranoob802]

dam how old is he now

[writersblock26]

@ultranoob802 62.

[panamanian911]

he isn't looking very well =S