Thoughts on Afghanistan

President Obama, after months of "dithering," has finally made a decision on how to proceed with the violent situation in Afghanistan. The escalation is being supported as a way to counter the ever increasing Taliban insurgency. This, the supporters say, is a necessary step toward making the US safe from future terrorist attacks. I understand this objective in theory---but have great reservations about the execution of this mission in the practical.
After the attacks on 9/11 the US response was on capturing Osama Bin Laden, destroying Al Qaeda, and overthrowing the Taliban. The US has succeeded in two out of three of these objectives and has done such a good job dismantling Al Qaeda that Osama bin Laden has been rendered useless. However since the initial successes of the war the US has been bogged down in a nation building strategy that has not been succesful. The question now becomes how many lives will we lose to establish a functioning nation in Afghanistan?
The same concerns were raised about Iraq and those who did not support the surge there have been shown to be wrong. But what was it that led to the huge security gains in Iraq? It was the large footprint of US security coupled with an uprising by local Iraqi communities. Is there such an awakening going on in Afghanistan? No.
In 1983, hundreds of American marines were killed when terrorists bombed the marine barracks in Lebanon. Reagan's first instinct was to strike back right away. He wrote that, "In the weeks immediately after the bombing, I believed the last thing we should do was turn tail and leave. If we did that, it would say to the terrorists of the world that all it took to change." However, he then writes that "Yet, the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there." Reagan pulled the troops out of Lebanon and instead focused on attacking the enemy through air campaigns.
Reagan was right to not put up with the irrationality that is Middle Eastern politics. Why should American soldiers have to die to sustain such a process?
So is a surge of troops is needed? Probably. But not to defeat Al Qaeda. The President's national security adviser, Gen. James Jones, said that "The al-Qaeda presence (in Afghanistan) is very diminished. The maximum estimate is less than 100 operating in the country, no bases, no ability to launch attacks on either us or our allies." So what are the troops being surged for? The mission is focused on providing security to the Afghan people. This goal makes sense and is worthy one. However, the mission also deals with cracking down on illegal drug production in Afghanistan, offering financial assistance to Pakistan and Afghanistan, and making the Afghan governemnt more ethical and accountable. Are these the goals for which American soldiers should die? I think not. Nation building missions never go well and are not worth the blood and treasure of our nation.
Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz got it right when he noted that "Our military is not a defensive force for rough neighborhoods around the world. They are trained to be an offensive, mission-driven military force to protect the United States of America. They are not trained to be nation builders or policemen. They are trained to be an aggressive machine that destroys and eliminates the enemy. Give them a mission and then get out of the way. They will accomplish the mission swiftly with outstanding results." But the Afghanistan mission doesn't have clear goals or a clear mission. Chaffetz goes on to highlight that the rules of engagement continue to hinder our efforts at defeating the enemy and it is morally wrong for us to send troops into harms way and then bind their hands.
When it comes down to it I do support the surge of troops to Afghanistan if the Afghans take control of their homeland. America still faces threats abroad and it should not be bogged down by a mission that is not clear in a country where the citizens are unwilling to step up. The clock is ticking and if the mission is not made more clear and the government of Afghanistan does not get its act together than the troops should come home and the US should refocus its efforts on other threats. I hope and pray the surge works---I just have my doubts that Afghanistan will be another Iraq. People of Afghanistan....prove me wrong.