President Obama recently made an unannounced visit to Dover Air Force Base to salute flag-draped coffins of Americans killed in Afghanistan. He said the scene was "a sobering reminder" of the sacrifices U.S. soldiers make, and that the experience would influence his decision on sending more troops. Source
Watching President Obama standing in the dark as the soldiers were carried past him, I was overwhelmed with many feelings. I was proud of our new President; he has done the right thing for fallen soldiers and their families by lifting the ban on cameras at Dover. The casualties of war should be honored in this way. It shouldn't be something that's secretly done in the dark of night, with no cameras to film the dead coming home, no Commander in Chief standing solemnly by. What a difference from the cowardice of George W. Bush.
When I heard that Obama described the scene as "a sobering reminder" of the sacrifices of the soldiers, I was hopeful. I know that I'm one of many who voted for Obama because of hope. Hope that he'd bring the soldiers home and end the occupation of Iraq. In fact, the U.S. is speeding up its military withdrawal from Iraq, sending 4,000 more troops home this month, a top American commander recently said.
The reduced number of forces in Iraq -- from 124,000 to 120,000 by the end of October -- marks the latest U.S. step in winding down the six-year war. Source
But what to do about Afghanistan?
Former Vice President Darth Cheney recently accused Obama of dithering. To dither; to act nervously or indecisive. I agree the President is acting nervously indecisive. It reminds me of late 2006, after the mid-term elections, 3 years into the Iraq war, when we waited for The Decider to make a decision on Iraq. Americans wanted a change of course. They had voted for change.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the president had expected to make a speech before Christmas to announce his new strategy for Iraq but still had questions and was not yet ready to make all the decisions he needed to make.
We waited, the soldiers waited, and died. I wrote a Diary here on DailyKos about that subject. "Happy New Way Forward, Everyone!"
The "new way forward" turned out to be more of the same. A surge of troops, the opposite of what Americans had voted for. Bush said he listened to lots of people before making his decision. He did not listen to the American people.
President Obama needs to reflect on many things before making his decision. The people who voted him into office are tired of war, we want the blood to stop flowing. We want the soldiers to come home...from Iraq and from Afghanistan. He also needs to hold on to the somber feeling he felt standing in the dark at Dover. If he decides to send more troops, he will have to see that somber sight more and more. He'll have to speak to families of the fallen, and try to justify the war their loved ones have given their lives for.
Some people believe that Afghanistan is a just war. After 9/11, it felt just, and maybe if it had been done correctly, it could have worked. Maybe if we had never gone into Iraq, and had focused on Afghanistan, we could have squashed Al Qaeda. We'll never know because W screwed it up so bad. All I know is this...we shouldn't be there any longer. And I don't believe we should stay to "train" the people of Afghanistan. If they don't know how to fight the Taliban or Al Qaeda by now, then they are beyond help. We can't win in Afghanistan...it would just drag on and on. Quagmire much?
Mr. President, do the right thing. Bring our troops home. We need them here. Bring them home to rebuild our infrastructure, our schools, our small towns. Save the money you'd spend on war and use it to stimulate the economy or spread the health. Do what we sent you to the White House to do. Pretty please.