Most of us, painfully, realize that we are deeply involved in Afghanistan. But honestly, most Americans don't really know why. And most of us know less what our specific objectives are, how we hope to attain them, and how, if and when we can get out.
President Barack Obama needs to take the lead to specifically "educate" and inform us. Why? Because American soldiers are being killed there almost daily, and billions of dollars of our tax money is being drained off with few encouraging results.
What is Afghanistan? Where is it? Why are we there? How can we get out? What would happen if we should fail?
Our leaders need to answer such questions so clearly that all Americans will understand.
Afghanistan is a rugged, mountainous Middle Eastern nation that is about six times the size of Tennessee. It has about 33 million mostly backward, tribal Muslim people. That's about six and a half times as many people as are in Tennessee.
Afghanistan has a weak, but struggling, democratically elected central government, with lots of local tribally controlled areas.
Afghanistan's most significant neighbors are Russia on the north, Pakistan on the south and Iran on the west. Russia invaded Afghanistan some years ago, fought a costly and indecisive war, then finally retreated. Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists, many based in Pakistan and mountain areas ranging from 4,000 feet (about like our Great Smoky Mountains) to 16,000 feet, infest Afghanistan. There are no "front lines" in the guerrilla warfare.
There is great instability in neighboring Pakistan -- which unfortunately possesses nuclear weapons that we do not want terrorist elements to control.
American soldiers long have been involved in an effort to support the shaky Afghan government. It is no bargain. But consider the alternatives!
We have about 68,000 U.S. soldiers there. There is speculation that President Obama may soon call for sending 40,000 additional Americans there. What is our purpose, other than to keep the "bad guys" from taking over? What would happen if they did? Our president needs to spell that out so all Americans will understand.
And he should tell us what he thinks U.S. "success" would look like. Can we "win"? The American people need to understand our objectives. We don't mean to stay there forever, at high cost in lives and money.
There are no "good" options. What are the "worst-case" scenarios? We need to understand to make the best decisions.
We need the American people to know and understand -- and then for our leaders and our people as a whole to decide the best course, and be unified in it. There is no desirable solution. Stay? Get out? Hope the weak Afghan government can stabilize the unstable country? Let terrorists take over? Let them destabilize nuclear-armed Pakistan even more? Or?
There are no good choices. There could be some bad consequences, whatever we do. We need to be informed to make the least undesirable decisions in a bad situation.
In Afghanistan we are set up to fail. No one can script an ending that would be good for America. With all good intentions we have destabilized the country and the region and our continued presence is only desired by those who profit monitarily.
I hope to hear President Obama wax eloquent in an exit plan speech. That I could cheer for.
For those of us that have lived through many wars, WWII, KW, Vietnam, etc., we know the foibles of 'stinkin' thinkin' on the part of our military leaders. We all know now what happened when LBJ inserted massive additional troops into Vietnam. We will never know what the outcome would have been if he had NOT. We have many well paid pundits sitting in their air conditioned offices (instead of donning a uniform) repeating the chant -- "bring it on". Let's not repeat our mistakes for the sake of 'merakin braggin' rights. I'm with nucanuck -- give us an exit strategy for our brave troops.
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