To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to plead for you to re-think sending more troops to Afghanistan.  It is not that I am Un-American, it is just that I would like to offer a different point of view.

Each one of these soldiers that are being sent there are not just government owned employees, but are members of familys that love them very much.  So many that are being sent are so young, and they too deserve the freedom and right to start a family, or see their baby’s grow up. 

Every soldier is somebody’s mom or dad, sister or brother, son or daughter.  When you send a soldier to war, in a sense, you send that soldiers entire family.  For if something were to happen to them, it destroys the lives of many.

I am proud of my soldier, and of all the soldiers at war or have been at war.  I would be elated to see them come home and be here to fight a battle for America.  I’m done with seeing them on the news dieing for what reason, I can’t honestly remember or know.  To be so far from their homes, to die on foreign soil, to not be old enough to legally drink or smoke a cigarette, but old enough to be given deadly weapons to use, and to die for a cause that they themselves aren’t sure of; it’s just not right. 

Please bring our soldiers home.  We need them here. 

Thank you for listening.

I find this particular thread very telling.

I agree with Liz 100%, the President is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. The group of us on WoW are a tiny fraction of the electorate and even we can’t come to a consensus of what should be done. Some say send more troops, others argue don’t send troops, while still others say our focus should be on Pakistan.  The reality as I see it is the terrorists are a moving target. They are not, have not been and never will be isolated to one area. So if the argument being offered up to send more troops to Afghanistan and hunker down for 5 years is to assure keeping them in check……wrong!

America will be like an octopus with its tentacles all over the place. One hand here another there, putting out fires that pop up all over the globe. We have serious and dangerous issues in North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, all over the place. Our armed forces are stretched to the limit and every time we occupy a region it cost money. Money that is desperately needed right here at home in the U.S.

But what makes this conversation thread so interesting to me is the connection between our President winning the Peace Prize and the subject of terrorists. Think about it. Why do people in foreign lands hate America?  I am not attempting for one second to imply that we were not hated before 2001, we were. However during the last 8 years our actions only served to substantiate their reasons for wanting to attack us. We became hated and despised, even among those who always viewed us as allies.

And now we have a President (rightly or wrongly) viewed by the world collectively as a  man of intelligence, peace AND he epitomizes America from a physical basis. We are a nation of people of different races, ethnicities, religions, educational backgrounds, financial and social standings, and guess what? Our President encompasses ALL of these attributes in one person! That is not lost on the world, they get it. So maybe…just maybe, he will be able to change the world’s mindset about the U.S. and in doing so, reduce the numbers who want to kill us.

It was Bush’s and Cheney’s words that changed how we were viewed by the world, and it can be President Obama’s words that restore our standing and integrity. Words are powerful. Those who attempt to diminish that important attribute of his, do so at their own peril. You should want him to speak as much as possible, because when he speaks people want to listen.

The special tonight on Frontline, entitled Obama’s War, is not going to be pretty.  President Obama changed strategy for the Afghan War last March.  He is currently   d-w-e-l-l-i-n-g  on the prospect of altering the strategy once again.  He is  t-a-k-i-n-g  his time … a long time.  Perhaps too long.  According to General McChrystal, the window for any success in Afghanistan is closing rapidly.  President Obama is reminding me of President Carter and his meanderings around the Rose Garden during the Iranian debacle.

Should American troops remain in Afghanistan for five or more years?  Not unless they have a Commander in Chief who will watch their back and not put them out on the front lines to "simply be there".  There must be an identifiable mission, an exit plan and if all goes to Hell in a handbasket, there needs to be a Plan B.  If none of the above is accomplished, then I agree with George Will, that to maintain a forward presence in Afghanistan is unattainable.  We should then pull back (not leave) and maintain surveillance (aerial) for reemergence of Al Qaeda training facilities.  The Taliban will control the country and  women will once again fall into the category of property.

The Frontline program this evening will report about the lucrative poppy fields and how the Taliban, not Al Qaeda, control the crop.  America cannot rid Afghanistan of the Taliban.  But we can control some of the influence by Al Qaeda upon the Taliban.

I believe we, as Americans, have to ask ourselves why we—America—must be ‘the ones’ who are ‘responsible’ for protecting the world from terrorism? 

In the past, we have done all we could to stop other countries from attaining strength, militarily.  Now, when it takes a world to stop the terrorism of a few, we seem to have no allies who are strong enough to get in there and help clean up the mess!  We have created our own ‘prison’ on this was in Afghanistan, or is it Pakistan?, or is it……..?

Human nature, competition, whatever you choose to call it, reacts  ALWAYS, to squash the power of the one at the top.  Thank GOD for Obama, who understands that co-operation accomplishes the best of the best, on a world wide scale…..but are we getting it from other countries?

On a personal level, I am against war.  I don’t want the US to be THE policing country for the rest of the world….Yes, I understand the dangers mentioned by previous posters, should we not continue…that is what makes this such a difficult moral decision.

But who is going to guarantee, that by continuing to waste resources—-men, women, time that could be devoted to something else needed, money that could be used to feed humans…all of those things—who is to say that will allow any sort of step forward?

I hate war! 

Only answer I can think of for this question is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv5BYEOQYLo