Lynn C. Woolsey: “Yesterday the U.S. embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul were attacked. The Taliban, which we know has exerted its…”

“Yesterday the U.S. embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul were attacked. The Taliban, which we know has exerted its influence in many of the remote regions of the country, is now flexing its muscle in the supposedly secure capital. It's just the latest piece of evidence that the military occupation of Afghanistan is having exactly the opposite of its intended effect. Nearly a decade after we allegedly defeated the Taliban and drove them from power, they remain as fearless and undaunted as ever. The longer we have boots on the ground, the more we prop up the very enemy we are supposed to be fighting. And for this, the American people have the privilege of shelling out $10 billion a month. I ask my friends on the other side of the aisle, the ones who are lecturing us every day about cutting spending, isn't there something better we can do with the taxpayers' money? Well, it turns out there is, and it would do more to promote security and counterterrorism than waging a bloody and violent war. For years now, I've been promoting a platform I call ``SMART Security.'' SMART Security represents a wholesale change in the way we protect our country and promote our values abroad. It puts us in a position of partner, not invader. It's smart because it treats warfare as a very last resort. It's smart because it uses different tools to engage other nations and resolve global conflicts.…”