Do you know why the US has troops fighting in Afghanistan? Do you support it?
At a recent weekend ski reunion in Nevada I asked this of some high school era classmates, (Phillips Academy, 1966), a relatively well informed and learned professional group, mixing law, public policy and private enterprise in almost equal measure.
I have found that many people, however well educated and apparently informed, do not know the official rationale for our being in Afghanistan. But polls suggest that opposition to the war hit 63% in December, 2010, as US (and other) soldiers continue to sacrifice themselves there and civilian casualties mount. With at least 919,967 people killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since the U.S. and coalition attacks, based on lowest credible estimates, the war should rightfully loom as a major campaign issue in 2012.
I have found that many people, however well educated and apparently informed, do not know the official rationale for our being in Afghanistan. But polls suggest that opposition to the war hit 63% in December, 2010, as US (and other) soldiers continue to sacrifice themselves there and civilian casualties mount. With at least 919,967 people killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since the U.S. and coalition attacks, based on lowest credible estimates, the war should rightfully loom as a major campaign issue in 2012.
About 10 of us had gathered in our former classmate's house and soon became engaged, if not enraged, by the topic, which recalled for us another conflict. Some of us had brothers who fought in Vietnam. Some of us did not have to serve because of the lottery then, or served because of it.
Most of us had come to see Vietnam as unjustified, as well as unsuccessful. (One of our classmates had written "Loon," a recent first-person account of a high-loss battle in Vietnam and its grim legacy.)
Some of us now fervently believe the US should bring back the draft (perhaps as universal 2-year national service) so that our wars are not fought only by those who volunteer. One advocated the idea on the grounds that if everyone in the country had equal skin in the war game, the country might be more fairly and fully engaged in determining what wars we fight.
Everyone seemed to agree that this would be good for the country. No one in the room seemed to believe that current leadership would be willing to broach the topic of the draft, or even of withdrawing, before the elections.
One of my classmates served in Congress and now, as an energy attorney, frequents the corridors of Washington and travels the world. He is the member of our group who predictably will have read the most relevant recent book on a topic and have the most informed and thoughtful view.
He cited the recent "Our Vietnam," by AJ Langguth, and reported some disturbing history compiled from original sources. According to Langguth, Kennedy never believed that the war against the North Vietnamese could be won. And he did not believe the "domino theory" that the fall of Vietnam would mean the loss of Asia to communism. He believed he simply could not afford politically to get the US out before the 1964 election because the Republicans would roast him.
By then, Lyndon Johnson, who as Vice President had tried to convince Kennedy to exit the war as un-winnable, found himself similarly trapped by a war that had escalated beyond the point of practical or political withdrawal. (Kissinger would later be instrumental in negotiating a pause in which the US finally could come out.)
This renewed sense of Vietnam history, where domestic politics interfered with common sense, provoked a number of reactions to the current situation.
By then, Lyndon Johnson, who as Vice President had tried to convince Kennedy to exit the war as un-winnable, found himself similarly trapped by a war that had escalated beyond the point of practical or political withdrawal. (Kissinger would later be instrumental in negotiating a pause in which the US finally could come out.)
This renewed sense of Vietnam history, where domestic politics interfered with common sense, provoked a number of reactions to the current situation.
One former classmate active on Capitol Hill characterized many Democrats as believing "Afghanistan is an outrage." He wondered aloud if Obama, who promised withdrawal by July 2011, can survive in 2012.
"When you read how the Mideast revolutions are happening, how accelerated everything is, I find it hard to believe that Obama is going to skate through," he said.
As a few of us wondered aloud at the apparent lack of anti-war activism compared to Vietnam's protests, our energy lawyer quoted a recent conversation with author James Fallows on the topic, who said:
"When you read how the Mideast revolutions are happening, how accelerated everything is, I find it hard to believe that Obama is going to skate through," he said.
As a few of us wondered aloud at the apparent lack of anti-war activism compared to Vietnam's protests, our energy lawyer quoted a recent conversation with author James Fallows on the topic, who said:
"You never know on a given day whether you should be living a normal life or doing something about the most important issue of our time."
Perhaps our war in Afghanistan is not "the most important issue of our time," but it must rank pretty high. How many have US soldiers have died there? The quoted statistics are: 4,683 in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, since "Operation Enduring Freedom" began on Oct. 7, 2001, and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" began on March 20, 2003. Of the total US deaths, 3,708 were reportedly due to hostile fire, and the remainder due to non-hostile actions (such as accident, suicide, or illness).
Perhaps the military deaths are the most important thing, though they do not embrace the thousands severely wounded or mentally affected for life. Officially, 30,490 U.S. service members have been wounded due to combat actions in Iraq and 2,309 in Afghanistan (32,799 total). (Source: Rod Powers, About.com) The civilian death statistics already mentioned are highly disturbing.
If you want the official rationale, you will find it here:
US President Barack Obama, declared on Dec. 1, 2009: “I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11....It is important to recall why America and our allies were compelled to fight a war in Afghanistan in the first place. We did not ask for this fight. On September 11, 2001, 19 men hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3000 people.”
In his press conference on military action in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama called the region a base for "Al Qaeda and its extremist allies" from which they train terrorists and launch attacks, now "the most dangerous place in the world for the American people" and "an international terrorist challenge of the highest order." An additional 17,000 US troops would be committed immediately, and training of Afghanis would be increased.
Perhaps our war in Afghanistan is not "the most important issue of our time," but it must rank pretty high. How many have US soldiers have died there? The quoted statistics are: 4,683 in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, since "Operation Enduring Freedom" began on Oct. 7, 2001, and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" began on March 20, 2003. Of the total US deaths, 3,708 were reportedly due to hostile fire, and the remainder due to non-hostile actions (such as accident, suicide, or illness).
Perhaps the military deaths are the most important thing, though they do not embrace the thousands severely wounded or mentally affected for life. Officially, 30,490 U.S. service members have been wounded due to combat actions in Iraq and 2,309 in Afghanistan (32,799 total). (Source: Rod Powers, About.com) The civilian death statistics already mentioned are highly disturbing.
If you want the official rationale, you will find it here:
US President Barack Obama, declared on Dec. 1, 2009: “I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11....It is important to recall why America and our allies were compelled to fight a war in Afghanistan in the first place. We did not ask for this fight. On September 11, 2001, 19 men hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3000 people.”
In his press conference on military action in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama called the region a base for "Al Qaeda and its extremist allies" from which they train terrorists and launch attacks, now "the most dangerous place in the world for the American people" and "an international terrorist challenge of the highest order." An additional 17,000 US troops would be committed immediately, and training of Afghanis would be increased.
Addressing Al Qaeda, Obama said flatly: "We will defeat you."
One might question if the US is suppressing or defeating terrorism as much as it is stimulating it, as some have suggested, by causing hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in countries with which we are not at war. And can Al Qaeda and the Taliban be defeated militarily on their home turf?
Our discussion was inconclusive, although the sense of the room was that this issue may be bigger than current debate and lack of open protest suggests.
Is Afghanistan an echo of Vietnam, misguided and un-winnable, and now a tool of US domestic politics?
Our discussion was inconclusive, although the sense of the room was that this issue may be bigger than current debate and lack of open protest suggests.
Is Afghanistan an echo of Vietnam, misguided and un-winnable, and now a tool of US domestic politics?
Will Obama sustain the hostilities until after the election in 2012, as much as it is supported on the right and opposed on the left?
Does he believe he has any choice?
Do you?
Do you?
Have you written your Congressman lately?
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