In December of 2009, President Obama finalized a war plan for Afghanistan that set the withdrawal date of U.S. troops by July 2011. His plan was to curb al-Qaeda influence and defeat Taliban forces that threatened the Afghan democracy. Unfortunately, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken in August 2010, the President’s support ratings over management of the Afghan war have dropped from 48% to 36%.
According to Web site icasualties.org, this year the U.S. death toll in Afghanistan stands at 323 American casualties, the highest casualty number for U.S. soldiers annually since the war began in 2001. Reports like this contribute to the American people believing Obama’s strategy isn’t working.
White House press release records show that U.S. involvement in Afghanistan’s affairs will continue even after the war. On Aug. 18, 2010 President Obama authorized an executive order that establishes temporary support in Afghanistan after U.S. troops have officially withdrawn.
I support the war in Afghanistan and Obama’s now realistic approach.
Democratic leaders in Congress fail to realize the military implications of an immediate withdrawal. Before his election, Obama strongly supported an immediate withdrawal and called for the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . Now as president, he is closing one war, but has the responsibility of finishing another war. He has changed his tune.
It is extremely smart for President Obama to make the July deadline flexible, especially with many regions in Afghanistan facing an escalation in Taliban violence. An immediate withdrawal would encourage the Taliban, and lead to destabilization of Afghan regions now experiencing violence once quelled early on in the war.
Not only is Afghani safety and issue, America ‘s well-being is also at stake.
Osama bin Laden trained anti-Communist Muslim Afghan forces in Afghanistan , fought against Soviet forces and the Afghan government from 1978-1992, and was actually believed to have a hideout in eastern Afghanistan in late 2001. Afghanistan harbors terrorists.
It is essential that we continue to hunt down al-Qaeda’s leaders and their followers. Bin Laden’s network of terrorism stretches into well into Afghanistan , with the Taliban working with some of bin Laden’s top commanders.
To leave before taking out al-Qaeda power in Afghanistan would be an opportunity missed to strike them at one of their key locations of operation.
I do understand the liberal point of view as well as their reasons for not wanting the war. I, myself, do not want war, and I certainly want our troops to come home safe and sound. I also agree that war is very expensive, and since 2001, our government has spent billions of dollars on defense instead of putting that money to use in education, social services, and public projects.
The Democratic, or liberal, argument is good. I simply believe that, as with any divided issue, we must “agree to disagree.” That being said, I think I speak for both liberals and conservatives that we must have faith in President Obama, and that he will bring a responsible conclusion to the war.
The war in Afghanistan affects most of us very little in the general sense. We go on with our lives, safe and far away from the actual fighting. But this is our generation’s war. Many of our contemporaries are currently fighting the war we want to sweep under the rug.
We are going to be the generation in charge of the United States one day, so therefore our understanding of the course of the war in Afghanistan is crucial to our knowledge of how to pick up the mantle in the future.
In order to be able to formulate new ideas and plans we must be able to truly understand everything that our country does—after all, the outcome affects us all.
