Spring Break
Why President Obama is on the Rght Track
An Analysis of the Deployment of 30,000 American Troops to Afghanistan
By Lauren Chooljian
After 92 days of deliberation, President Barack Obama concluded that America's best option in Afghanistan would be to deploy 30,000 American troops, beginning in 2010, to Afghanistan, and then begin to bring them home after 18 months. While in Afghanistan, U.S. troops will continue to target al Qaeda members, confront the Taliban insurgency, support efforts to rid the Afghan government of corruption, and train Afghan troops to be able to fend for themselves once we leave. It only takes about 10 minutes of deliberation to realize, he is right.
The eight-year war in Afghanistan has been trying on American's emotions, patience, and bank accounts-without question, the majority of Americans would wish it to end as soon as possible. While it is extremely difficult to believe that war is the answer, after watching President Obama's address last Tuesday, it is easier to understand that sending 30,000 troops to Afghanistan is the right decision to reach that end.
Five minutes into the address, President Obama's speech was already quite impressive. He began by articulating the bare facts about the war in Afghanistan-a welcome change for many viewers. There have been too many rumors and misconceptions floating around about the wars the U.S is involved in, and his attempt at educating and connecting to his viewers was an effective one.
While for some, his five-minute catch up was repetitive; for most, it was the clarification they needed after eight years of confusion.
President Obama's idea of taking troops out of Iraq was another highlight of the speech. As he articulated, "the Iraq war drew the dominant share of our troops, our resources, our diplomacy, and our national attention," while significantly larger problems of security and terrorism existed in Afghanistan.
The problems of 9/11 did not link to Iraq, and if the United States is going to fight a war, all of its attention and resources should be focused on the most threatening situation, especially during a recession. These are two starkly different situations, and deserve completely different consideration and attention.
The eight-year war in Afghanistan has been trying on American's emotions, patience, and bank accounts-without question, the majority of Americans would wish it to end as soon as possible. While it is extremely difficult to believe that war is the answer, after watching President Obama's address last Tuesday, it is easier to understand that sending 30,000 troops to Afghanistan is the right decision to reach that end.
Five minutes into the address, President Obama's speech was already quite impressive. He began by articulating the bare facts about the war in Afghanistan-a welcome change for many viewers. There have been too many rumors and misconceptions floating around about the wars the U.S is involved in, and his attempt at educating and connecting to his viewers was an effective one.
While for some, his five-minute catch up was repetitive; for most, it was the clarification they needed after eight years of confusion.
President Obama's idea of taking troops out of Iraq was another highlight of the speech. As he articulated, "the Iraq war drew the dominant share of our troops, our resources, our diplomacy, and our national attention," while significantly larger problems of security and terrorism existed in Afghanistan.
The problems of 9/11 did not link to Iraq, and if the United States is going to fight a war, all of its attention and resources should be focused on the most threatening situation, especially during a recession. These are two starkly different situations, and deserve completely different consideration and attention.
This article was published on 12/11/09 in the Opinion section.
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