On Wednesday, Obama approved a surge of an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. A large portion of these troops, roughly 10,000 troops will be sent to the southern region of Helmand which is believed to be the financial and spiritual headquarters for the Taliban. This surge doubles the number of troops currently in that area - which has proven to be the deadliest area for American troops. Unfortunately, the rather large area (the size of West Virginia) is composed of dry, dusty desert that reaches temperatures of 130 degrees F in the summer.
I support the surge, but only if it is the last one. We can not have another Vietnam situation in which we continue to replace dieing troops with new ones. I feel that we can not just leave Afghanistan and abandon the people, but I do think that we need to be more careful with our troops there. We need to target certain things rather than attempt random attacks at members of the Taliban. I hope that these 30,000 troops will be enough for us to finally produce some progress in the region and not be a gateway to many future, unsuccessful surges.
Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/world/asia/03deployment.html?_r=1&ref=politics
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/obamas_surge_in_afghanistan_hardly_a_surprise_20091203/
No comments:
Post a Comment