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.
Some feel that a large troop increase will help quell the Taliban and bring greater stability to the Afghani government and people. General Stanley McChrystal proposed the influx of troops in an effort to mirror the “surge” in Iraq, which many regarded as a success in helping control the situation there and lower the casualty count. Such action is also supported by Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai’s primary challenger in the Afghan Presidential race. He insists that President Karzai has not done enough to thwart Al Qaeda and that extra international assistance is necessary to bring peace and order to the country. But will such a maneuver truly help the war effort?
Probably not.
While resources and troops are important in any military offensive, what really matters is an effective strategy. I’m no military expert, but I know that war is not just about which side has more soldiers; it can certainly help, but it can also hurt. Dumping another 40,000 soldiers in the harsh Afghanistan terrain does not guarantee success. Managing Director from the Institute for the Study of War, James Danly agrees.
“If we were to take our soldiers and apply them wisely, we will be much closer to parity,” he said.
It is feasible that relatively small increases of soldiers positioned strategically will be sufficient to get the job done. Putting so many lives at risk for brute force tactics is not the answer we need. With so many lives already lost over this war and the Iraq War, it is about time we started putting quality over quantity.
Looking back on these two major Middle Eastern wars since the new millennium, one must ask whether they were warranted. Certainly, Afghanistan was more justified than Iraq. With Afghanistan, there was clear offensive conduct through the 9/11 attack in 2001. Iraq, well, we were pretty sure they had some nukes.
Yet, our heavy involvement in the Middle East since and anti-terrorism security policies that have since been enacted seem to have stretched things a bit too far. And the majority of our country (and most of the world) has certainly noticed.
As a child who witnessed 9/11 and the subsequent government action, I came to realize some of the tragic realities of this world. My innocence was shattered. Fear and anger were the natural short-term responses, but as time went on, many began to loathe the Bush administration’s War on Terror.
So back to the big question: Was going into Afghanistan the right thing to do to begin with?
It’s hard to say no. But the fact that it served as a gateway to a new era of paranoia and restricted freedoms challenges this “eye for an eye” mentality (not to mention the greed side of things with the manipulation of the oil market).
And now we face quite a predicament. Once we were in, leaving the job half-way done just didn’t seem appropriate. We all know it’s not proper to go to guest’s home and leave the place a mess without offering to clean up. In all honesty, if we knew we were going to make such a mess (as we should have; it’s war after all) we shouldn’t have gone in, in the first place; or at least we should have made it quick, just to make a point. Sticking around has just further angered Al Qaeda and the Taliban and given them more opportunities to kill American soldiers. Prompt departure from Iraq is well overdue. As for Afghanistan, it would probably be in our best interest to offer a little extra assistance while the election is carried out, but then to leave quickly after. We’ve done enough harm as it is.
The unfortunate reality must come to light that the War on Terror is not a war that can be won; wiping out all the terrorists is not a goal that can be achieved. One must assert oneself when violated, but going on a mighty crusade to purge the world of “evil” has never been very successful.
You’d think after over 900 years we would learn, wouldn’t you?
*Image courtesy of graffiti.org
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