The U.S. was never going to win in Afghanistan, a collection of warring tribes | Letters

Yes, al-Qaeda had operational power and bases in Afghanistan before and after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. And so the United States sent troops to Afghanistan. But this terrorist organization then had opportunities to set up new bases elsewhere in order to launch terrorist attacks.

State decision-makers should learn from history. You should avoid repeating previous mistakes. Then why didn’t the US see that Afghanistan was never a nation-state, just a loose collection of warlike tribes fighting each other within false borders previously drawn by Europeans?

No American engagement in Afghanistan, with troops or dollars, would ever succeed in establishing and maintaining a central government there. As in Vietnam, our government realized far too slowly that we lost this “war” a long time ago by local, nationalist forces.

Mary F. Warren, Wheaton

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Every household in Illinois must have broadband internet access

Before the legislature adjourned in Springfield this spring, we passed a bill that could help thousands of low-income Illinois residents connect to the Internet. Senate Act 2290 creates the Illinois Broadband Adoption Fund to support broadband access across Illinois. We look forward to seeing Governor JB Pritzker swiftly sign the law and, more importantly, provide adequate resources to ensure everyone, no matter where they live in Illinois, is connected.

Expanding broadband access is a bipartisan issue as it affects everyone. And it’s a problem that we can solve together because of the billions of dollars available from federal and local governments.

According to a study submitted to the Illinois Broadband Advisory Council last December, only 70% of households in Illinois are active subscribers to an Internet service. That number drops to about 63% for Latin American households and to 58% for African American households. This gap between available services and active subscriptions is a gap that we can and must now close.

Unsurprisingly, according to research by the Pew Research Center, internet usage is tied to income levels. For some families, ongoing economic hardship means choosing between distance learning, teleworking, and telemedicine, or paying for rent, groceries, medicines, and other necessities.

That’s why we need the Illinois Broadband Adoption Fund. There are already a number of good models out there to get the job done. For example, when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, the Chicago Public Schools worked with United Way, dozen of community partners, and internet service providers to connect tens of thousands of CPS students across the city.

But school-based programs are limited to families with students – and that means many other households need broadband service but no institutional partner to help.

If we are to emerge stronger from the pandemic and prepare the Illinois economy for the future, we need to be more connected. Now, with the Illinois Broadband Adopt Fund, we have the opportunity, and we call on Governor Pritzker to sign the bill.

State Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan; and State Senator Scott Bennett, D-Champaign.

For Trump, lawsuits are performance art

Okay, now former President Trump is suing Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Regardless of the fact that these are private companies and as such have the right to tell anyone to stay away from their “property” for whatever reason, and are not subject to the First Amendment. Someone, please remind me about the last time Donald Trump won a lawsuit.

For Trump, lawsuits are just performance art. He thinks he’s not getting enough attention and wants to divert attention from the criminal charges against his company and its chief financial officer that make him look bad, so he sues someone for changing the subject.

Realize what Trump is doing for what it is doing – and instead focus on important things.

Curt Fredrikson, Mokena

Paul Gosar embarrasses Arizona

Fox News made a lot of stink about the Democratic “Squad” – the four colored women in the US House of Representatives who irritate conservatives to death. Fox likes to hint that they are radical and unpatriotic and use the culture wars against them.

What Fox never emphasizes is the obvious: Republicans have some madmen in their own ranks. And these are really crazy cases, folks Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Matt Gaetz, Rep. Louie Gohmert, and that weirdo from Arizona, Paul Gosar.

I’m going to take on the Democrats every day for these crazy jobs.

Above all, Paul Gosar is the fanatic of a fanatic. This is a man who has consistently defended the insurgents who stormed the Capitol on January 6th. A man who has embedded himself in white nationalists. A man whose own family has in some cases denounced him for what he is, an utter disgrace that has no business as a congressman.

In the next Arizona primaries, Gosar needs a Republican challenger to beat him. And if that doesn’t work out, he’ll need a strong democratic challenger.

Send him pack up, Arizona. He is a shame on your state and the nation.

Herb Vermaas, Salem, Illinois