Just moments after President Obama delivered his speech on his new strategy for Afghanistan, the chatter around the world began, and debates on whether this new strategy was a realistic or non-realistic one arose. There are a number of points of view on the new strategy; politicians, military families, normal everyday citizens – each one having their own right, and each one important. But there are no more important opinions on the new Afghanistan strategy than those of our United States troops fighting in the war in Afghanistan, and their commanding Generals on the ground. And of course, the Afghan citizens whose future lies in our hands, as well as their own.
A believed reality that many have stated, including the Taliban, is that the new strategy to send 30,000 new troops will lead to more American casualties. The Taliban are also aware of American’s ailing economy, and say that the surge of 30,000 additional troops will give insurgents an opportunity “to increase their attacks and shake the American economy, which is already facing crisis.” (Asharq Alawsat – “The leading Arabic International Daily – English Edition”) Despite these comments, commanding General Stanley McChrystal remains very hopeful and confident that the new strategy will be successful, assuring Representative Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, that the troop infusion will work and telling the Representative “I believe we will absolutely be successful.” (Associated Press)
During his speech at West Point Military Academy, President Obama laid out a plan to send an additional 30,000 troops, and set up a goal to begin a withdrawal of U.S. troops by July 2011. The specific goal of the President to begin pullout of troops from Afghanistan is what had, and still has, many people divided and questioning the strategy. Arizona Senator John McCain was one of the first to speak out against the specified date of withdrawal, saying it was an “unrealistic goal based on what current conditions are on the ground.” President Obama’s proposal to begin withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by July of 2011 has sounded to many to be an unrealistic goal. The President’s goal in sending an additional 30,000 troops is to speed the U.S. towards a sooner exit, something both Americans at home and U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan have mixed beliefs will work with the surge. (Associated Press)
Despite some division between how American soldiers at home and stationed in Afghanistan feel about the new strategy and the surge, there were positive thoughts coming from troops in Afghanistan. About an hour after President Obama addressed his speech revealing the new strategy, Richard Engel of NBC News reported from Camp Eggers in Kabul that the troop reaction had been “fairly positive”, and “something that they wanted”. The surge of additional troops is something that the troops in Afghanistan had been asking for for quite a long time. There had also been considerable frustration among the troops that the announcement hadn’t come sooner. The commanders on the ground in Afghanistan are also satisfied with the surge of additional troops, something that they had requested and had hoped would come through. (Richard Engel, NBC News)
One of the most important things that the surge of U.S. troops will mean for the Afghans is how it will effect Afghan security. Already American troops are training the Afghan military, and many U.S. soldiers who will be arriving in Afghanistan in late January/early February will begin training the Afghan military so that they will eventually be strong enough to fight corruption in their own country, leading to the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops
from Afghanistan – one of the biggest goals within the U.S. military at this point. Based on the regions in Afghanistan, many Afghans are divided on the presence of U.S. troops. Many welcoming U.S. Troops for working to build the Afghan military, and many believing that the presence of more U.S. Troops will result in collateral damage. (Today Show – NBC News)
Having seen many wars, and troop surges come and go, many Afghans are skeptical that if the U.S. ended up pulling out troops by 2011, the Afghan security forces would not be strong enough to keep the Taliban out of the Afghan villages. They also fear that it would only be a matter of time until everything fell back into chaos. Afghans, as well as U.S. soldiers, have mixed feelings about the new strategy and the addition of more troops. Many Afghans and U.S. soldiers wonder when and if the Afghan government will be strong enough to fight the corruption once the U.S. Begins to pull out of Afghanistan, while both also fear that the surge may cost more Afghan civilian lives. But despite their concerns, in a conversation with the Today Show’s Matt Lauer, a former spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai stated that “overall, a lot of Afghans understand we need the Americans for now,” and he strongly reiterated “…we have hope, Afghans have hope.” (Today Show – NBC News)
The plan for a surge in Afghanistan may sound familiar to those who remember the surge of additional troops into Iraq just two years ago in 2007. The 2007 surge into Iraq resulted in massive death toll rises among U.S. Military and Iraqi civilians, soldiers and policemen. Then, three months after the surge, troops controlled less than a third of Baghdad and the Iraq surge would later be considered a success. Many of President Obama’s advisers have recounted that the decision on the surge of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan by next summer was at least partly inspired by the success of the effort in Iraq. Still, while there are similarities between the two surges, and while both surges aim at fighting a corrupting insurgency, the situation during the surge in Afghanistan is very different from the situation during the Iraq surge. But the hope of both commanders in chief for a “new way forward” remains the same. (The New York Times)
With opinions flying, and history at stake, it’s easy to get lost in the chatter and lose focus of what’s right and what’s wrong. We have to remember who’s actions are at stake here, and who it is that our focus needs to be on during a critical time such as this. Our United States troops are the ones who deserve our attention at a time of war, not our politicians, and not the everyday civilians who believe everything they hear, and who believe they know what’s right. No one can fathom what our troops go through every day in Afghanistan, but everyone should support them for what they’re doing and listen to them when they voice their own opinions.