Afghanistan- the forgotten front

At election time candidates will do almost anything to find something to slam their opponents on. Iraq has been brought up again and again as a money drain, a waste of lives and resources, a potential source for major US embarrassment. There has been talk of entering Pakistan in order to chase down our enemies that find safe harbour there.

What I have not heard was much in the way of talk about Afghanistan and what our plans are for the conflict we are in over there. I have a friend who just came back from a year over there, so during lulls in communication, I would check the DOD casualty list regularly to be sure that he was still safe. What I found was surprising. Looking at the death notices, I saw that there have been more US soldiers lost in Afghanistan than Iraq, at least in the last 6 months or so. How is it that never makes the news? I'll tell you why- no one wants to face the fact that we are losing in a country that was "bombed back into the Stone Age" only seven years ago. After our bombing wiped out most major systems and made it difficult for the Taliban to hold on to national power, we assumed that we had won and all we had to do was clean up. No problem- we could do it AND fight on another front at the same time. Now, we are paying the cost for our arrogance.

You see, we forgot one thing that the Russians will never forget. The Afghanis will fight for as long as it takes, make any sacrifice, and send their women and children off to fight if need be. They will fight by whatever means necessary in order to survive. The present nation of Afghanistan is peopled by those who know nothing but war, death, and fighting. Many of the leaders, rebel or otherwise, were battle tested as children in their fight with the Soviets. And they won. They beat the second largest superpower in the world at its time of greatest military might. Did we think that these men were going to go quietly?

When you combine that toughness with the inhospitable terrain, lack of friendly reliable neighboring states to support us, and the fact that religion and politics are one in the same in that region, you get a tricky situation. Since their religious leaders are often key political figures and their faith is the guiding force of their daily lives, when you attack them politically, militarily, or religiously, it is all the same to them; you are attacking WHO they are and EVERYTHING they believe in. When you say that their government is unjust, you are saying that the leaders of their faith are unjust, which by extension is saying their faith is unjust. With the conditions these people have to face in daily life- extreme poverty, death, starvation- their faith is their refuge and their promise of a better life after death. Is it any wonder why they will fight so hard, fight to the death? We are attacking their HOPE. We have to recognize that and be careful that we place ourselves in positions that clearly show that we are not acting from prejudice, but from ligitimate provocation.

The Taliban has not disappeared, in fact they are gaining strength, as the popularity of the US among Afghanis is decreasing. The poppy crop, which funded our enemies and was almost wiped out, is at pre-war levels and again providing a large funding source. Yet we continue to divert the bulk of our military might to a country that never housed the terrorists we were going to war to fight and diverting them from a country that has given them succor and a safe place to hide. We need to take the war in Afghanistan seriously- they are. It is after all, politically and morally, the only open conflict we have a leg to stand on in. It is the only battle where we can legitimately say that we are fighting an enemy that has attaked us, directly or indirectly. As long as Osama Bin Laden is out there and pulling the puppet strings, as long as there are elements willing to hide and support him, as long as there are followers willing to fight for him, then we have a legitimate mandate in searching him out and eliminating him and destroying the network that suports him.

Yes, we need to be careful about how we exit Iraq; now that we have gotten into this mess, we have put our reputation on the line and the world is watching how we handle it. However, we cannot let the situation in Iraq contribute to bankrupting our country (think Osama doesn't love what's happening) or from diverting our attention from the war we must win.

Terrorists succeed when they create fear, panic, unrest, and affect change in behavior through achieving this objective. Looks like they've won to me; so now what are we going to do about it? We must look for constructive solutions to this problem- more manpower and military resources to the area, more humanitarian aid, engaging religious leaders in the region in discussions about how to resolve the conflict, actively pursuing those in the wrong while making a point of protecting those who are innocent. In short, living the ideals we espouse to the world. Far more Afghanis civilians have lost their lives in this conflict than were lost in 9-11. We must step up and do what is necessary to bring this conflict to an end- not treat it as the redheaded stepchild and sweep it under the rug.