We are amazed when the White House throws out numbers and figures in place of tangibles like the lives of Americans. Last Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced a plan to send 30,000 troops to join the already 68,000 in Afghanistan. This measure is supposed to take full effect by next summer.
Sadly, most Americans only see the numbers — intangible zeros floating next to other intangible digits. They forget that 30,000 more troops means 30,000 more sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers being sent abroad with the possibility of not coming home.
The Obama administration is committing to Afghanistan with no clear reason as to why it is necessary to be there in the first place. The White House plans to send all 30,000 troops there by the middle of next year with the intention to start withdrawal after 18 months.
The president’s main objectives include creating a stable environment, by going after al-Qaida and the Taliban — two organizations that primarily operate in Afghanistan. According to Obama, “[The United States] must deny al-Qaida a safe haven.”
He plans to promote stability by reinforcing the Afghan security system so that when we leave the country, we will leave it in a peaceful state — a state that will be maintained by a well-trained security force. This “generous” gesture, will cost us about 30 billion dollars by next year. Bare in mind, we are still struggling to maintain the consistency of our economy.
Doesn’t this sound like the same bullshit we heard eight years ago? Former President Bush promised the same bullet points in Iraq that Obama promises in Afghanistan. Adding insult to American injury, economists and White House estimations say these wars could cost nearly $3 trillion by 2012.
In truth, this war is heading toward another one of those “Oops, we did it again,” moments. Maybe this time we will realize we just flushed taxpayer money down the drain on a war that could be prevented if not for immature politicians.
One thing we find not so immature is some Republicans are finally agreeing with Obama. Of course, they are not agreeing on specifics like the number of troops being sent or even the amount of time they will be deployed. Wait, that may be a bit immature.
On a more serious note though, who really is profiting from this war? Losing more lives abroad and nearly going broke in the process cannot be something we tack on to “foreign aid.”
Let’s face it, the war in Afghanistan is a political war. The United States is, simply, trying to flex its proverbial muscle. Leaving Afghanistan shows weakness. Obama does not want this. Our elected officials seem to care less about the people they represent and more about the way they are presented to the world.
Representatives have long made decisions based on how much money private interests can give them to help protect their costly campaigns. This just might be another reason we are in Afghanistan. If that private donor just happens to be an oil company with investment plans in Afghanistan then that representative will work to secure investments in Afghanistan, not protect the safety of the American people.
Politicians keep making more and more decisions based on how much their careers will benefit. They forget the men and women they promised their loyalty to on the campaign trail.
The war in Afghanistan will be a waste of time, an insignificant reason to lose lives and waste of money. If we let our flip-flopping, selfish politicians continue to make inconsiderate decisions that are bound to affect American families, we will have failed as a democracy.