Fareed Zakharia asks the question "Why are we fighting in Afghanistan?" I think it is a question that deserves an answer.

Did anybody find anything wrong with Mr. Zakaria's logic?

Neither did I.

But I think I know the answer to his question.  The reason that we remain killing and dying in Afghanistan, even though there really is no valid reason to continue killing and dying, is because of politics.

Because President Obama and the Democrats know full well that the Republicans are waiting with drool dripping from their slathering maws for the moment when Obama has to announce that we can no longer justify fighting that war.  One nano-second after he does that the GOP will pounce.

"We were winning that war until President Obama took office, and now look!" They will say.

"We knew the Democrats would cut and run once they took power!" They will complain.

"Just like we said, the Dems are soft on terror and cannot keep America safe!" Yhey will boast.

They will throw everything they can think of at Obama, and damn him to hell for making the only decision that will ultimately be left to him.  How, and when we bring our troops home from Afghanistan.

He cannot wait until we win, for there is no clear victory to be had.  He cannot wait until they elect an honest leader because the country is too corrupt to produce one.  He can do nothing except wait until his second term and do what he, and every Democrat, know will virtually ensure a GOP victory in 2018.

This is the trap that Dick Cheney and Karl Rove set for the Democratic President they knew was coming after eight disastrous years of Republican control, and it is working perfectly.

Even the so-called anti-big government Teabaggers dare not question the incredible amount of money we continue to spend on the two wars we are currently fighting.  And to make sure that subject will not be broached the Republicans have recruited Sarah Palin to walk the Baggers back from throwing military spending onto the pile of government programs they want cut because they believe they are draining this country's resources.

Check out some of these statements from Palin's recent Facebook post.

Something has to be done urgently to stop the out of control Obama-Reid-Pelosi spending machine, and no government agency should be immune from budget scrutiny. We must make sure, however, that we do nothing to undermine the effectiveness of our military.

When President Obama came into office, he inherited a military that was winning in Iraq. He inherited loyal allies and strong alliances. And thanks to the lamestream media pawing and purring over him, he had the benefit of unparalleled global popularity. What an advantage! So their basic foreign policy outlines should have been clear. Commit to the War on Terror. Commit to winning – not ending, but winning the war in Afghanistan.

It is in America’s and the world’s best interests for our country to remain the dominant military superpower, but under President Obama’s leadership that dominance may be slipping away. It’s the result of an agenda that reeks of complacency and defeatism.

Of course not one word of that was actually written by Sarah Palin.  But she was recruited to put her hoofprint on the post and claim it as her own.  And she will gladly stand before Bowling conventions and Teabagger friendly political rallies and spew the talking points contained within without really understanding a single word of them, but believing in their inherent rightness just like the good little Pentecostal she was raised to be. (She does not understand the bible either, but GOD DAMN IT she believes every word written on its blessed pages. King James version only of course.)

So WHY are we in Afghanistan?  Because there is no way out for the President without committing political Hara Kiri.  That is why.

And there will continue to be no escape for him until the American people finally stand up and demand an end to that war. But how can they when they are too busy being fed misinformation by Fox News, and allowing themselves to be frightened into spending all of their savings purchasing overpriced gold to head off the coming financial collapse? Sadly the majority of Americans seem more content with hearing a never ending stream of lies issuing forth from the lacquered lips of the Fox News bimbettes than to hear the unvarnished truth coming from the always professional Rachel Maddow.

Of course, if the Teabaggers were actually the honest "anti-big government" organization they claim to be, THEY would be the ones standing on the streets demanding that we bring our troops home, and insisiting that we stop sending trillions of dollars overseas to be wasted on unnecessary military actions or stolen by corrupt Afghanistan government officials.  But honesty is simply NOT a virtue of this particular movement, as demonstrated brilliantly by Bill Maher way back in March of this year.