The Afghan War For Dummies

With the situation in Afghanistan escalating, President Obama has devised a plan for how to move forward. Here is the gist of his plan:

Declaring that our nation's "security is at stake," Obama has announced that 30,000 more troops will be deployed to Afghanistan, and he's wasting no time. Most of these troops will be from combat divisions. The Marines are set to be in place by Christmas. With the announcement that all of this is going to cost $30 billion for the first year alone, Obama has promised that the US will be pulling out of Afghanistan within 18 months. The new initiative will be focused on reducing the Taliban's stronghold and strengthening the Afghan government. He also stated that our common enemies are "Islamic terrorists." He is not calling this an "exit strategy", but instead a "transition strategy." With that in mind, I'll now change topics and discuss my opinion of Obama's proposed plan.

First off: my disclaimer. I cannot claim that my opinions will be backed up by numerous facts, figures, or sources. I am going to just try my best to think logically about this and formulate a response. As I said earlier, war is extremely confusing to me, and I'm trying to understand it as best as I can.

I think that no matter what Obama did: whether he pushed for immediate pull out or threw a ton of money at the war, people would be unhappy. People would say he was wrong, or that they had better ideas. But one of the most persistent complaints about this war is that many feel it will be "a war with no end." Perhaps it will, but at least now a path forward has been illuminated. In terms of sending more troops, I don't necessarily like the idea, but I think it is necessary. But not because I feel we need "to win." Because I think our troops who are already in Afghanistan need help, and not only that, but they deserve it. If they are more safe, then I can easily see the justification for sending more troops. At the same time, I think personally that we should pull out of Afghanistan. I think that we have dug ourselves far into a hole that is going to be difficult to climb out of now, and so I suppose one could use that as an argument for why we can't leave. If we leave, two things could happen. The people of Afghanistan and Pakistan (who I believe are just as much a part of this war) could be left to resolve things themselves, and to face the Taliban without us. This could go "smoothly", meaning that in many, many years, some sort of stability would be restored to the region naturally. Or: All hell could break loose. I have no idea which one would happen, and to be honest, the whole entire situation makes me sick to even think about. I entirely respect Obama's decision and see that he is not pursuing this issue as an issue of nation-building, but as a plan built around insurgency. I hope all goes well with his decision, and I guess only time will tell.