Progressives (Liberals)

I’ll end wars that waste our money and make us less safe.

How the neverending wars make us safe is beyond me.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States would pull 5,400 troops from Afghanistan within 135 days of signing an agreement with the Taliban, the American special envoy told Afghan leaders on Monday.

That pullout would be the start of what is expected to be the gradual withdrawal of all 14,000 United States troops that could end America’s longest running war.

The American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, who has led nearly a year of talks with the Taliban, told an Afghan news channel in Kabul that the United States had reached an agreement “in principle” with the Afghan insurgents, but he cautioned that final approval rested with President Trump.

“In principle, on paper, yes we have reached an agreement — that it is done,” Mr. Khalilzad told the Afghan channel ToloNews. “But it is not final until the president of the United States also agrees to it.”

Afghan leaders aware of Mr. Khalilzad’s discussions in Kabul said the most likely sticking point for Mr. Trump would be the timeline under which the rest of the American troops would leave.

Mr. Khalilzad has not shared those details, but Western officials have previously suggested the timeline for the full withdrawal of American troops would probably be 16 months, if the Taliban meet certain conditions.

In a sign of the escalating violence in Afghanistan amid the American optimism for an imminent deal, a massive explosion shook Kabul just as Mr. Khalilzad’s interview with the channel was winding down.

How the neverending wars make us safe is beyond me.

Never had a reason to be in Iraq in 2003.

I don't understand why Obama agreed with the Yemen war even though it is hardly talked about, we shouldn't be supporting the Saudis against the Yemen people. I didn't keep up with all the whys and wherefores, so I have no idea how and/or why we got involved.

All I know is that the Saudis do not seem to be our friend and they are an oppressive country who killed Jamal Khashoggi and the Yemen people have been suffering from the Saudi war with them for years.

[Wars] make politicians safe — pull in big bucks from defense contractors, keep certain businesses alive in their states, and they get to appeal to the basest instincts of pseudo-patriotism with the "Support our Troops" mantra.

Extreme partisan gerrymanders can violate North Carolina’s constitution, a state court found Tuesday, in a decision striking down the state legislative maps the GOP statehouse adopted in 2017.

The ruling is a major victory for redistricting reformers after the setback the Supreme Court dealt them in June. North Carolina has been embroiled in lawsuits over its redistricting schemes since the last census, as Republicans have held a majority in the legislature — and until recently, had a supermajority — even as Democrats were able to win statewide offices.

A united three judge-panel said that the current state House and Senate maps — which were adopted by the legislature after its previous maps were found to be illegal racial gerrymanders — violated the state constitution’s Free Elections Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and Free Speech and Free Assembly Clauses.

“Using their control of the General Assembly, Legislative Defendants manipulated district boundaries, to the greatest extent possible, to control the outcomes of individual races so as to best ensure their continued control of the legislature,” the court said.

The court is giving the legislature until Sept. 18 to draw interim maps for the 2020 elections...