Millennials: We Care If Nothing Else

I have not given the war in Afghanistan any of my time.

This topic of the War forced me to step outside of my own hectic personal life and admit that what I would like to know about the war in Afghanistan is a much larger subject matter than what I already know. I credit this to the tendency millenials, such as I, have of being self absorbed. But in the circumstances we are encountering presently, is that really as bad as an idea as it may seem?

A Dithering President?

Is Obama “dithering” and “waffling” when it comes to his policy on Afghanistan? Former Vice President Dick Cheney sure thinks so. In his harshest critique yet of the new administration, Cheney complained that Obama’s indecision will “hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries”.

In recent weeks, much hype has surfaced around the issue of Afghanistan and what course of action President Obama should ultimately pursue. On one hand, Obama could heed the advice of his general on the ground, Stanley A. McChrystal who recently requested 40,000 additional troops. The reasoning is the same we have been hearing since the early days of the presidential primaries in 2007: We need to end the war in Iraq and transition troops to win the war in Afghanistan. The opposing viewpoint, somewhat surprisingly, comes from Vice President Joe Biden, who prefers to maintain troops at their current levels and instead, focus on eliminating remnants of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

What I (Don't) Know About Afghanistan*

When I think of Afghanistan, I don’t think of sand, oil, Sunnis or Shiites – not immediately at least. The first image that pops into my brain is the cover of the New Yorker’s December 10^th, 2001 issue. It depicted a map of “New Yorkistan” broken up into smaller countries with “Middle Eastern” names like “Taxistan,” “Irate,” “Irant,” and – my personal favorite – “Youdontunderstandistan.” At 10, I understood enough about the world to know that this was supposed to be funny. At 18, it’s still funny, but it also says something about my knowledge of this part of the world – I really don’t have a damn clue about the Middle East.

Afghanistan Needs Its Fix

If there is a War for Dummies book, I'm pretty sure one of the first pointers is, “Do not invade Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan, that wartorn muddy bloody mire of conflict, has seen one world superpower break entry and be defeated, only to suffer the presence of another – and “shoot” for the same conclusion. If Barack Obama thought the United States could institute government in Afghanistan without running into the problems that every other aggressor since Alexander the Great faced, he needs to adjust his strategy.

The Modern Crusade

The lives of another 40,000 men hang in the balance. President Obama is faced with the cumbersome decision of whether or not to send more troops to Afghanistan. He has met with his advisors several times already, weighing his decisions, receiving inputs from both sides; he has yet to reach a decision.

Bullies on the Playground

Someone pushed us, and as is protocol on the playground, we pushed back.

But our push didn’t just cause our opposition to stumble: it caused the global playground to look at us in a different way. Our push, somehow, was not clearly justified. Our push, from everyone else’s standpoint, didn’t have recognizable intent. We claimed we pushed back in the name of democracy, a push against terrorism. Others claimed we just pushed back because we wanted what they had - oil.