More Troops? That Dog Don’t Hunt!

The President has managed to wedge himself between the proverbial rock and hard place. We can’t leave Afghanistan and we can’t win if we stay. Furthermore, if he sends in additional troops his own party will hate him, and if he doesn’t, the Republicans will hate him evermore- if that’s possible. President Obama is questioning his earlier decision to elevate the war, and said before he commits more troops, we need a clear strategy. Of course, this implies that he increased troop levels since taking office without a clear strategy- providing even more fodder for his opponents to harp on. The military leaders have all but said we may never win this war by the classical definition. I take that to mean- surrender.

So we’ll stabilize the country instead. It’s like admiting we can’t change straw into gold, so we'll try for jello. How do we presume to know we can even accomplish that? It’s my understanding the Taliban are indigenous to a massive part of Afghanistan. We’ll be fighting their children and their grandchildren- just as the British did, for oh so many years. If stabilize means we never win, and never leave, then count me out. As a friend of mine used to say, “That dog don’t hunt!”

It’s never too late to admit we’ve made a strategic blunder. Job one was to defeat al Qaeda and their leader. Overthrowing Afghanistan hasn't defeated them. Putting up a puppet leader hasn't defeated them. Pakistan now looms eminently as the next country to face our wrath in the continuing saga of: Where’s Waldo? This strategy, and whatever we hope to gain from it, by any measure of success, isn’t worth the precious lives that will be lost in the process. It's time to bring the troops home, and figure out another way to catch terrorists, and secure our country from their wrath.