President Barack Obama’s delay in announcing the future course of American involvement in Afghanistan is detrimental to our mission in the Middle East. He should provide our generals with everything they require and make it unmistakably clear that America has no intentions of leaving until we have eliminated the possibility of terrorists using Afghanistan as a sanctuary, a place to launch more attacks.
American and allied forces have been engaged in a low-intensity conflict with Taliban and al-Qaida forces since we invaded in 2001. While the levels of blood and treasure spent inexorably have increased, positive developments have been few and far between. Such a dour assessment spurred the president to ask U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to conduct a review of the mission. McChrystal’s advice was clear – send 40,000 more troops or accept failure and withdraw.
The general’s ultimatum was delivered at the beginning of this month, but Obama has yet to announce his decision. In the interim, his indecisiveness is demoralizing our soldiers, emboldening our enemies and encouraging corruption within Afghanistan’s government. Given the president will eventually send the troops, it is irresponsible not to have clarified the situation by now.
Obama will send in the additional troops for a number of reasons. On the campaign trail Obama made it unequivocally clear that Afghanistan was the “good war,” while Iraq was the mistake. Having already sent in an additional 21,000 troops this year in March, it seems unlikely he will abandon the mission. It’s not likely our freshman president is going to become a maverick on us and unilaterally pull out.
Obama and the people he surrounds himself with understand the immense strategic importance of not letting the country fail. McChrystal, Gen. David Petraeus, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Sen. John Kerry all unanimously agree that the current situation is untenable and a withdrawal would be disastrous for our interests in the region.
The timing of escalating the conflict isn’t going to get much better. Currently, Pakistan is conducting an unprecedented military assault against Taliban and al-Qaida forces near the border of Afghanistan. The rugged terrain and poor border security has often meant that if pressured by NATO, the terrorists simply slip across the border to Pakistan. But now that we have the commitment of Pakistan, there should be nowhere for the militants to hide and our chances of success increase more dramatically than if we act alone.
Because it is obvious that the troops will be sent, instead of playing this costly waiting game, the president should focus his energy on convincing the American people why we’re sacrificing our soldiers in a country on the other side of the world.
According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, nearly 50 percent of Americans oppose a troop buildup, which by extension means they probably favor a substantial withdrawal. This kind of opposition, strongest within his own party, suggests the president has not annunciated the importance of this war.
Afghanistan is the most visible front of our war on terrorism and our enemies understand the stakes couldn’t be higher. A withdrawal would signal a defeat of freedom, surrender on the part of America and an enormous victory for the forces of evil.
So please Mr. President, listen to your commander and send the troops. America is counting on you.
—Tucker Wincele is a political science and economics senior.
—This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to opinion@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed . Include your full name, major and year in school.
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