Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Dear Mr. President,

I read in the paper today, where “officially” your buildup of troops in Afghanistan shows signs of progress but troops on the ground, the rank and file, aren’t convinced. Soon as the spring thaw sets in, they’re anticipating another bloody year. Worse, seasoned vets of this misguided war, the ones who’ve done 2, 3, 4 tours, doubt the prospects of long-lasting success. As with all wars, it’s the grunts on the ground who know what’s happening and whether the war can be won or not, not the politicians giving an illusion of success or the generals at the Pentagon throwing darts at a map and dreaming of another star on their epaulettes. The article reports that the new strategy, more or less unannounced, is to withdraw troops from the Pech, Karangal and Nuristan Valleys, and other areas that a year ago were “critical,” and focus on “securing” scattered villages and isolated areas. Sounds like your generals are changing horses in midstream, Mr. President, that they realize there’s not so much progress after all and they’ve got to figure out something else to try. Meanwhile, every month, more lives lost and shattered, more hatred engendered, and more money and resources – desperately needed here at home – down the rat hole. One colonel called the discrepancy between the efforts of small military units at the tactical level and the larger strategic trends, “the great disconnect.” If I were you, Mr. President, I’d want to talk to that man. Here’s the bottom line: “The Taliban and the groups it collaborates with remain deeply rooted; Afghan military and police remain lackluster and given to widespread drug use; the country’s borders remain porous; Kabul Bank, which processes government salaries, is wormy with fraud, and President Hamid Karzai’s government, by almost all accounts, remains weak, corrupt and erratically led.” Every day this war drags on, a little more of our national soul is eaten away; it corrupts us all, destroys us in ways we’ll be paying for for generations to come. The unjust treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning, the suspension of habeas corpus, Guantanamo Bay, the use of torture, all that is a consequence of this war, of these wars. No end in sight. Not unless you bring it to an end, and once a war is started it is immensely difficult to stop. It’s your choice, Mr. President, just as it was your choice to escalate the war. Do the right thing before our nation is in tatters fiscally, spiritually, morally. Bring this war to an end now.