On Tuesday the pentagon made an announcement stating that troop increases in Afghanistan will not be possible until more troops are withdrawn from Iraq. This poses a real problem because troops are desperately needed in Afghanistan to fill the gaps of a NATO led force. Ideally, 10,000 troops would be dispatched to Afghanistan to help find and eradicate the Taliban regime. This is unfortunate because any troop decrease in Iraq will have to be suspended because ongoing battle with Shiite militias. Pentagon secretary Geoff Morrell said, “We really have to get down in Iraq below 15 brigade combat teams for us to consider adding multiple additional brigades to Afghanistan.”
So what does this mean - that we will not be able to supply troops that are necessary to contain the Taliban regime? Unfortunately at this time, it seems that there is no better way. Members of congress are consistently lobbying for troop decreases in Iraq so there is no chance they would condone a troop increase in Afghanistan. Honestly, it seems as though we have reached the point where most civilians are fed up with this war. But it is beyond that. Somewhere along the line, people have developed the notion that the war on terror and the war in Iraq is a senseless mission that does not need to be completed. The leaders of our country have not embarked on a fruitless journey. The greatest failure that could be made at this point is to prematurely withdrawal troops before we have accomplished our mission in these regions. The Middle East is an area of great tension. I would like to think that if we continue to stay in Iraq to help establish a democracy, that we would be able to help resolve some of the issues in that region by establishing a lasting and effective democracy.
