As you may remember, President Obama campaigned on a promise to win the "Good War" in Afghanistan. With American troops bogged down with no clear mission and the country reeling from a corrupt election, our president faces an increasingly difficult decision: send more troops or pull out. As you can imagine, American Generals are requesting more troops while Obama's fellow Democrats would prefer a more cautious approach.
What do you think?
After watching the documentary, use the links found on the web page, WHAT TO DO IN AFGHANISTAN -- THE DEBATE, discuss with your small groups, post your opinion on the blog, and complete the following assignment:
Check out the political cartoons on the situation in Afghanistan for inspiration and......draw your own! Have fun, make a point, and be creative. Due Wednesday afternoon @ 2:00pm.
Oh yeah, this is going to be the subject of our first Thursday Throwdown, so EDUCATE YOURSELVES.
-Ned-
-Ned-
26 comments:
I believe that we should not send any more troops to Afghanistan or Pakistan at this point in time. Due to the fact that we have yet to utilize our current armed forces deployed there to their full potential. Sending more troops would just throw money at a fire. However, what we should do would be to set objectives for our soldiers and our country and have a overall goal for our military that is currently deployed. All that is going on over there is small skirmishes between U.S. Armed Forces and al Qaeda. In would be of no benefit to send reinforcements since we are already over-throwing the al Qaeda forces. In my opinion the only acceptable, plausible, circumstance to send more troops to Afghanistan is if we did indeed plan to completely drive out and eliminate Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
I think that we should bring are troops out. Because there is no need for them to stick around when there loved ones are missing them, true there is a war there and just because we pole are troops out doesn't mean we are cowarding away. We need to let them take care of there own issues and if all eslse fails maybe in the next few years we will need to go back. The soldiers there have got some trust with the home people and that is good. We should keep any relashionships that we have there alive, What I'm trying to say is that we should take are troops back out as a test and if something very big and bad happens we can go back in and help. So for now I believe we should pull them out and not send any more.
I do not believe now is the time to send more troops into Afghanistan. I would like to say I would like us to drop the whole thing, but really how probable is that? If we pull out all our troops the Taliban will take over again, and diminish all that we have fought for. Also if we pull our troops out and choose to come back with more troops will the country want us there?
Right now for our country as far an I know we don’t really have this surplus of money to fund sending up 40 thousand troops over to Afghanistan. This is a hard thing to choose. So I pretty much understand why Obama hasn’t made a choice. Not justifying it.
I don't really know what to think about this whole thing, which is why I can't come to a clear decision. I don't think we need to send 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, but I also don't think we should bring the troops home that are now in Afghanistan. I think if we did bring the troops home we would need to train them more in what they would be doing when they are just walking around the desert like in the video we watched. That is why I don't think it would be a good idea to send more, because we’re not ready for that. But my question is that if we bring the troops home would Afghanistan let us back there if we had to go back at anytime? I can understand why Obama would have a hard time making this decision.
i think that we should pull out of Afghanistan, we have been there for about 7 or 8 years. this has been the longest war in history. we finished what we originally went in to do and yet we're still there. our soldiers deserve to come home and not for a small leave, but to accutally come home and stay home. Quince
let me give you a pice of history! for the past 2000 years, the middle east has and will be always fighting!!! And for the past 200 YEARS we, the United States of America has been in the Middle East trying to make it an example of a good old Democracy. so for the past 200 YEARS we have been pouring in troops into the Middle East!!!! so as the "American standerd" we will send more troop in and probley keep sending troops over there!
My opinion is that we don't need any troops there because our original mission was to keep Al-Qaeda at bay. (Which we seem to be doing just fine with drones. They don’t want us there, right? Sounds like another one of those pointless wars. We could be helping other people that need us, maybe even ourselves.) Why are we messing with their government, people, and land? Do we think it's our responsibility? I guess though, if we don’t, who will? In the place of their people, I might want help from the outside, but how am I to know since I'm not in their position? I don't know but all I do know is that we're probably hindering more than helping.
So all in all, I believe we should pull out our troops. Who are we dying for?
-kt
(P.s, I don't really know much about this so I feel kind of silly giving an opinion.)
Yeah, sure, let's just keep sending our troops to Afganistan... because America has unlimited resources, right? Wrong.
Why have we been pouring our troops into Iraq and Afganistan for so long? As the great Nedley famously said "gone are the day where it's just America against Germany." We're fighting an enemy that will always be there, hiding behind Afgan citizens. What's the point? I understand that America has some moral role to be there in these situations, but we are not and have not been wanted there for quite some time. Depending on how you look at it, we almost make the situation worse by being in Afganistan. To me, Obama shouldn't even have to think about his descision.
I'm out.
I was absent for most of this week ned so cut me some slack....
I think we should not send more troops and we should pull and/or relocate the troops we have there. We have no real reason to be there, there is no oil and osama binladon is probabaly dead in a cave some where. I think we should just pull out of the middle east and let them fight it out then we can come in and help clean up!
Its not unamerican to do that, its just good business...
I, Brandon L. Bothmer think that we need to send more troops and finish the job in afghanistan. If your going to kick down the door of a country and try to help them by ultimatly changing a country why would you not stay and finish what we started. Its not good sportsmanship to leave. We cant give the afghan people hope that change will be coming to their country and then turn our backs on them. I think it would be wise to send fresh troops and keep in mind they are volunteers who want to make aaaaaaaaaaaa change or whatever their motive is.
Yea,ok, then lets just all pull out of Afghanistan and then let the Taliban further dig theirselves into the Pakistani Government and then we will all regret it when we are hit with Nuclear bombs. We need to put more troops over there to help re-create the peace. Otherwise the Taliban is going to become more of a threat to not only just us but other countries. I would rather end up with a bad economy, then be blown up, thats not what my future holds, so I truely hope Obama makes the right decision. MORE TROOPS!!!!!!!
America is the only country who has the power to bring peace to Afghanistan. And people from Europe are not going to Afghanistan and try to bring peace there. So if America will not do it, there will never be peace in the Mid-East. I think it is wrong that everybody thinks that it's America's responsibility, but people from Europe are not going to change there mind. For me an important point is, America already put so much work in Afghanistan, and right now Afghanistan isn't in total chaos just because the Americans are there and controll the situation. If you stop supporting Afghanistan now, there will be total chaos and the situation will get way worse. I think the only way to end the chaos down there is, to give them the chance to build their OWN government. But this needs time and requires troops. Obama has the future of Afghanistan in his hands.
I believe that we should send the troops because if we pull out of Afghan with out their governement having a hold the Taliban will end up taking Nuclear wepons from Pacastan and this will cause our nation to be in serious danger, if we take out the Taliban than the terrorist groups that they support will fall apart ensuring more saftey to our country. When Terrorist get nuclear wepons they will threaten the world and end up getting what they want.
This is why i believe we should send more troops.
~Collin Hakes
Anything with the word Nuclear in it is bad.
Obama needs to stop wasting time, agree with the general, and send troops to afghantistan! human rights apply to the troop over there too. if we dont go over there they will die and whos to blame??? us! obama just take us over seas.
sam
that we as the American people have a responsibility to the rest of the world when it comes to protecting the innocent and keeping the peace, and if there is no peace to be had, then we must make it ourselves.
i understand that many people think that we have more pressing issues at hand, and i might agree, but this issue is important none the less.
we need to help afghanistan fix their situation so that they may help us with Pakistan. right now Pakistan has nuclear weapons that are well within the reach of the Taliban, and if the Taliban have those weapons so do all of the radical extremists that want to see america destroyed. and whether we want to believe it or not, it is a real threat. we cannot stand by while innocent lives are lost, and our country along with many others are being put at risk. Even if we went in ad killed every extremist we could find, the Taliban would still be an issue if we do not help to create a more stable form of government that does not allow the Taliban to come in and bribe their way to what they want.
The bottom line is that as long as the Taliban has its roots n the pakistani government, we are not truly safe.
-jake kennedy
I believe that Obama should send troops so that the millitary can fordify the major cities and alow the government to rebuild itself. But i am personaly glad that Obama is thinking serious on this issue!
Decisions, decisions. If we pull our American troops out of Afghanistan, the risk of the terrorists getting their hands on Pakistani Nuclear weapons will be higher then we might expect.
If we send the 40,000 troops that our fellow American Generals ask for, we might be able to secure the countries and annihilate the terrorists' growth. But we will lose more American lives, that is an unfortunate fact.
From experience, I think the president should be: decisive.
More troops need to be sent to Afghanistan for several reasons. The most important is that we need to finish what we started. By finish i do not mean pull out and and pretend that our absence will solve everything. In the vacume of power the worst of people will take control and continue comiting acts of murder and terrorism. We don't have the numbers we need to successively complete our objective. In my mind that leaves one solution and that is more troops.
We shouldnt be in this war in the first place! We already have to much on our plate! Thanks to the economic crisis, there is no need for soldiers but thanks to the various wars, situations and polititians, we arent doing anything to solve the crisis. Why are we even in this war? To catch a terrorist? He is most likey dead. That or he has shaved his beard, moved to America and purchased a small buisness that sells pencils.
I BELIEVE SENDING MORE TROOPS TO AFGANISTAN WOULD BE THE CORRECT THING TO DO. THATS WHERE THEY NEED TO BE BUT THEY SHOULDNT LEAVE IRAQ OTHERWISE THE SOMEWHAT STABALIZED GOVERNMENT THERE WOULD COLLAPSE AND THE HARD WORK THE SOLDIERS PUT IN WOULD BE A WASTE OF TIME. MORE SOLDIERS ALSO EQUALS MORE BLOODSHED. ALTHOUGH THE ADDITIONAL TROOPS WOULD BENEFIT THE WAR ON TERROR!!!!
Your not able to fight a war and protect your home if you don't have the troops. Who likes nuclear weapons say I! I think if we pull out the Taliban will take control of Pacastans nuclear weapons.
“If I were an Al Qaeda guy, I wouldn't go out for a pizza.” (Bryan Hilferty)
Hello my name is Sean Mansha and i would like to talk to you about the situation regarding sending more troops into afghanistan. I feel that sending more troop will help finish the job. We cannot let fallen comrades die in vain. They would not want that and we should not want that. I say buckle up buttercup and get ready for a wild ride!
I think that we need to send more troops for a few reasons. If we take our troops out the taliban and any other tribes that are killing inosent people, they will grow in size, wealth, population, and be more free to go around and kill, destroy, and make things almost impossible to have a working government for the civilians to live in. No one will want to live there and if they do there is a big threat that they will get murdered or kidnapped by these evil tribes. Butttt.... if we send more troops we can wipe them out way easier, and just show those little pieces of panzie BI#$!#$ that we are more powerfull then they are, or will become. They will either get wiped out or they will give up. if we take our troops out then all of the people that have died over there will have died for no reason! its not that hard to understand. another point; its not about sending them home because there familys miss them and love them it isnt about that, we need to think of the greator cause and fite for our country the place that we live in. and for the people that live over there? we need to protect them because we are a free country the only one in the world, we need to help other countries to try to be like ours or else they will be wiped out to... (sorry for spelling and grammer errors, i hate a friggen cast)
I think we should send more troops into afghanistan for a variety of different reasons such as: If we pull out all of our troops the taliban will become more powerful then the u.s itself if we send in more troops right now we will be more powerful and we can win the war before they get more wealth powerful and the death rate goes up and also if we take our troops out after they become more powerful it will make it practically impossible for the people that live there to have a government. SEND MORE TROOPS!
yes blood! need BLOOD SHEAD!!!
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