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Loading...Afghanistan: We Cannot Afford More War
Tonight, President Obama addressed the nation from West Point announcing his intentions to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan and to begin phasing out troops by 2011.
He began by invoking memories of 9-11 and why America went to war in the first place — reminding us of terrorism, of the Taliban, of violent extremists who “have distorted and defiled Islam, one of the world’s great religions, to justify the slaughter of innocents.” He defended our reasoning for going to war in Afghanistan as a war of necessity, one that was vital to protecting America’s interests after a devastating attack.
Then he reminded us that in 2003, America shifted courses. Suddenly, it was Iraq we were after, not Afghanistan.
“It is enough to say that for the next six years, the Iraq War drew the dominant share of our troops, our resources, our diplomacy, and our national attention – and that the decision to go into Iraq caused substantial rifts between America and much of the world. Today, after extraordinary costs, we are bringing the Iraq war to a responsible end. We will remove our combat brigades from Iraq by the end of next summer, and all of our troops by the end of 2011.”
Well, at least there’s that good news.
But then he got to the point, which was that we are now sending MORE troops to Afghanistan — another 30,000, bringing the US troop level to about 100,000.
“As Commander-in-Chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home,” the President announced.
Wary of the resistance he is already facing, he emphasized: “I did not make this decision lightly.” He reminded us that Afghanistan’s infrastructure, even after all these years, is just not stable enough for us to leave yet:
“Huge challenges remain. Afghanistan is not lost, but for several years it has moved backwards. There is no imminent threat of the government being overthrown, but the Taliban has gained momentum. Al Qaeda has not reemerged in Afghanistan in the same numbers as before 9/11, but they retain their safe-havens along the border. And our forces lack the full support they need to effectively train and partner with Afghan Security Forces and better secure the population. Our new Commander in Afghanistan – General McChrystal – has reported that the security situation is more serious than he anticipated. In short: the status quo is not sustainable.“
Obama is a master of words and rhetoric, but rhetoric cannot obscure the ugly truth here: we cannot afford the cost of this war, both in money and in human lives. And despite delivering a powerful speech, as Obama so often does, there are too many questions that still remain unanswered:
Will we really phase out troops by 2011? Will Afghani security forces really be secure enough by then? Or will this withdrawal timeline turn into another empty promise?
Where will we get the projected $30 billion needed for this troop surge when we are already in an economic crisis with no end in sight?
What will happen to Afghani women and girls? Their plight is terrible, but was barely even mentioned in tonight’s speech. Are we going to continue to turn the other cheek to the human rights crisis faced by Afghani women on a daily basis?
Tonight, the President faced what will go down as one of the deciding moments of his administration. There is no longer any question: this has become Obama’s war. He had the misfortune of inheriting two wars when he came into office. But instead of ending them, he has chosen to extend them. He rehashed the same explanations thrown at us by prior administrations over the past eight years.
Candidate Obama rode into office last year promising change from the policies of the past eight years. But tonight, President Obama only continued to invoke Bush Doctrine ideas behind the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Where is the old Obama? The one who promised hope and change and a new way of politics and government, and an end to wars of the past eight years?
Tonight, we did not see that Obama.
What do you think? Is this a good decision? What influenced your judgement?
For another perspective try Obama on Afghanistan: Great Speech, Smart Policies, Near-Impossible Task
Read more: 000 troops, 30, afghanistan, american troops, in harms way, iraq, obama, politics, women
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Recent Comments from Causes
Good victory
ty
Suba - grab a handful of green stars yourself, you know where I keep them!
90 comments
+ add your ownBravo, Judy. You tell them!
Is Al Qaeda any weaker as a result of the Afghan fiasco? It has spread its tentacles far wider throughout the world since the U.S.A. attacked Afghanistan. The U.S.A.'s arrogant aggression is daily losing it friends, increasing its enemies. It is a no-win situation. Bush and his equally ignorant minions should have studied the history of the country before becoming enmired in a complexity that has throughout the ages defied attempts at a solution by far more intelligent beings. This Afghan business has absolutely nothing to do with making the U.S.A. a safer place. That was just brainwashing to gain the support of the equally stupid public for nothing other than an attempt to gain control and economic domination over an additional part of the world. You have far better use at home for the billions of dollars being wasted in this futile campaign. Leave the Afghans to sort out their problems; it will take ages, but military intervention has never secured a lasting settlement there.
We know that Karzai is worse than imperfect. The entire Afghan gov't is corrupt & thriving on our $ & bribes extracted from the Afghan people & contractors. Afghans tolerate the Taliban because they, at least, are "honest" & do not require bribes to get something done...the courts, for instance.
We don't care about women here: cities in our nation have 1000s of rape kits from the '60s not opened even once for testing? So what makes U think "America" (actually, we're just the USA) will care about women in Iraq: we don't care about our own women in the military who are sexually assaulted by their own comrads; we've defended no Iraqi woman being assaulted by her husband or did anything about any "honor" killing.
We, the United States, are just a big "Bah, humbug" to the world.
We have individuals "over there" who are doing good work, but as a nation, we are only interested in controlling the world. Obama said so in his Nobel acceptance speech. What happened? Where is the person i voted for? Where is the promise? We are owned by the megacorporations. Who will SAVE US?!?!?!
Let's hope the war ends soon.
There has got to be more Positive and creative ways to help the Afghan People.
War is a Punishment, it is Never an Answer to Anything!!!!
It is none of our business to be over there anyway!!!
There are just more excuses being made to continue the war.
The President and our Country need to focus !!! on Resolving
our own issues here in the US. We need to fix our own country
before we try to fix other countries !! Each country has their
own issues to work out !! This is not the time to reach out to
help other country's issues, there are many other countries
with issues that are not being helped. Our country needs
Attention, otherwise the situation can worsen here in the US.
Obama didnt start this war but he must end it and to end it unfortunatly he is going to have to step up the to stringth to get the job done.if we leave before securing this country thank of all the women who will be raped and beat,children who hill go hungry and all the outher human right violations that will be commited.war is ugly but we must complete the job before leaveing !!!!
Merle, regarding the 30,000 peace corps people going in - - do you really think we should feed 30,000 people (unarmed, I presume, according to the prevailing predelictions of the majority of those who frequently provide learned discourse on this site) into the Taliban guns? Really?! Do you think the Afghans would appreciate it? Really? The Taliban would have a very huge laugh at America's expense if we fed them 30,000 to gun down. Which is exactly what they would do. They want to run the place - -and I doubt they're interested in "learning" our ways. That's part of what they hate.
As long as the Afghan people insist on hunkering down into their small tribal structures and cowering in front of the terrorists who seek to run their lives, we can't help them.
I think what we need to do is just wipe out the terrorists wherever we find them (they're all over the world, you know - - and yes, they do hate us) and declare victory and come home. and any Afghan woman who wishes to come along, and who promises not to blow us up, should be allowed to come along.
Just my opinion, which isn't much on this site.
The Bush administration wanted to get hold of Iraqi oil in order to earn a lot of money. The war against Afghanistan was its offshoot. Now they can't afford this war any more...
Paul Diamond, Bernard C, and Lionnel Mann are "Thinkers-of-My-Own Heart" of a sorts. The disappointment in this President's reaction to the Afghanistan war is gross. His professed efforts at diplomacy are nil -- although we may never be told what is going on behind the scenes. He told us before winning that he would redirect the combat there; but there is little evidence he is planning to do anything different. Yes, the 30,000 Peace Corps option would be different, very appealing, and would change the course of history for this country. Contributing food, growing agricultural crops, buillding roads and supplying transportation is an unusual and possibly very effective and novel way to combat terrorism. It is also one that the Christians of our country should be able to favor and uphold, since it aligns with religious principles. It would not only be a new day but a new way of living, and would also be more economical than blowing up a country and then rebuilding it; or rather than destroying lives, and families, we would be redeeming them. Since US dollars are going over there anyway, they should be used for the most optimum benefit. This is a new way to take the sting out of terrorism and should be explored by this new Commander in Chief. News stories have shown that in some limited instances, some of our troops have begun to do just that in helping to build an educational facility for a village. The cooperation they received from the population was incredible.
Every Afghan owes allegiance to the warlord chief his/her tribe rather than to any central government. The "authority" of Karzai, minimal anyway, as he is seen as a U.S. puppet, extends no further than the outskirts of Kabul.
The Afghan police and military, being trained and armed, will not be under government control. Already ten per cent are deserting, with their arms and equipment, and possibly being recruited by the Taliban, leading to an escalation of an already difficult situation. To attempt to improve matters is patently futile, an utter waste of time You are dealing with the most corrupt system on earth.
Besides, anyone who believes that Osama bin laden is skulking in a mountain cave needs his gead read. Al Qaeda has spread its tentacles way beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan. The crass ineptitude of the Iraq and Afghan wildcat military campaigns, with the horrific slaughter of innocent civilian men, women and children, has fuelled recruitment for "terrorism" and will continue to do so. What was the real reason for the unprovoked aggression in the Middle East anyway? The Afghans and Iraqis do not want a Cola kiosk on every corner, a burger-bar on every street.
It is to be hoped that eventually it will penetrate some thick skulls that the only way to conquer "terrorism" is to eradicate its causes, the ruthless exploitation of the world's weak and helpless leading to their hunger, their deprivation, their desperation, their anger. Use brains not bullets.
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