On this one, I am taking a pass and I'll tell you why. The war in Afghanistan has been neglected for about eight years, and thus nothing much has been accomplished either in Afghanistan, or Pakistan or anywhere in the immediate area outside Iraq.
Aside from the fact that the original war should have been in Afghanistan and not Iraq, the original mission (and there actually was one) was to get Bin Ladin and his gang, and it has not been accomplished. We were diverted. Does this mean we should be state building in the area? Absolutely not.
There is yet another point and it is this: we, the general public, do not get security briefings and know only part of what is going on in an area that is highly complex. I think Obama understands that we are not there to take over Afghanistan, Pakistan or any other country, as we unfortunately did in Iraq for some time. Do you recall seeing someone in our forces putting up an American flag? That could only be called an embarrassment.
On the other hand we have to deal with terrorist organizations that are now aggressively recruiting in our own country, proselytizing and training young people. To be terrorists against us right here. These activities exacerbate the situation both here and there. We are at war with at least two terrorist organizations, and in order to deal with them, it would make some sense to do so at their camps. They train for the most part in the Middle East.
It would also be disingenuous to say that this war has gone on for nine years and that makes it "enough," and thus it is time to bring everyone home.
I have no resolution to this war on terror; I don't know what we should do, but I also don't think anyone else with only partial information should presume to know. Taking a pass on this one might be a good idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment