Guided Weapons, Unguided Purpose

By WashDCDemocrat

President Barack Obama is currently debating wether or not to send additional soldiers into Afghanistan to supplement those already there. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), of which the U.S. is part of, has 64,500 soldiers deployed, the equivilant of about three divisions. Historically, more soldiers does result in a higher success rate, as casualties can be replaced easily and more firepower can be deployed at any given time. Despite these facts, Obama is taking his time in coming to a decision, having recently paid a nighttime visit to Dover Air Force Base to see the returning bodies of US soldiers. In all likelyhood, more soldiers will be sent to the conflict zone.

But they need a clear mission first.

After the attacks on 9/11, our purpose was clear: find Osama bin Laden, and either kill him or capture him and bring him to the US for trial. We've had seven years to locate him, and now he seems to be in Pakistan, an area off-limits to US footsoldiers. Despite this, the Air Force continues to run Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, or "drones") across the border to launch airstrikes at hideouts. When Taliban forces do cross into Afghanistan, they often target US troops. So more US troops are called in to support the troops already watching the border, in something of a cycle. What kind of a military objective is this?

The Pakistani military is playing an ever-increasing role, having launched several offensives to try and disloge the Taliban from their strongpoints. Meanwhile, on both sides of the border, controversy continues to accumulate, as more civilians are caught in the bullets and bombs fired by both sides, and as reports come in of the use of white phosphorus (WP) by both sides, as well as claims that the US had deployed depleted uranium rounds to the conflict zone (this rumor was dispelled). All of these issues underscore the need to think this decision through to the end.

The Republicans have a word for this: "dithering". They're calling for an immediate decision, and they want that decision to be a troop deployment. Isn't that what got our troops stuck in this quagmire? They point out that our soldiers are in harm's way, but that was a decision made by the Bush Administration. The military is a tool, but the soldiers who serve are human, just like the rest of us. When we forget this, we lose our priorities. The safety of the personell falls second to the safety of the mission - a mission that has now lost all focus.