Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. I just arrived home in San Francisco, and I'm a bit jet lagged, so tonight's entry will be a short one. It will also be the last entry until next Monday, unless there's a major news story. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
AFGHANISTAN: Word has leaked out that President Obama plans to send an additional 34,000 troops to Afghanistan as part of a comprehensive new strategy that he will be announcing early next week. The strategy will also include increased efforts to stabilize the Afghan government, economic development initiatives, and other new diplomatic programs. This decision makes me very worried. I was pleased that the President spent so much time carefully thinking this decision through. I trust that he has given it full deliberation. I also appreciate the fact that there are no good options in Afghanistan. Failing to secure the country could put the Taliban back in power and give Al Qaeda a safe haven.
On the other hand, it just doesn't seem right to me to risk 34,000 more troops on a mission that still doesn't have a clear endgame. No country or empire has ever won a war in Afghanistan. How much more blood are we willing to shed to be the first? Such a commitment also will be a drain on our Federal treasury. House Democrats, led by Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI, have proposed a "war tax" on the wealthy to pay for the ongoing conflict. ) This is a superb idea, because it would make the war effort a shared sacrifice. But it will unfortunately never see the light of day in Congress, especially in the United States Senate.
I will be firmly against this plan unless the President gives a very good idea in his speech next week as to how this fits into a broader strategy of ending the war as soon as possible.
That's it for a short entry tonight. See you next Monday!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment