America’s Ambition To Destroy Afghanistan

The United States’ determination to win the war against Afghanistan is solid. As many as 30,000 additional troops have already been prepared to destroy the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

In his speech early last December, President Barack Obama announced his plan to add to the number of American military personnel in Afghanistan. His goal is to use all of the new troops in the field by the middle of 2010. “The 30,000 additional troops… will deploy in the first part of 2010 – the fastest possible pace – so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers,” said Obama in his speech.

This black president asked for international support, especially from America’s NATO allies, in hopes that they will agree to contribute more troops. “Because this is an international effort, I’ve asked that our commitment be joined by contributions from our allies… Now, we must come together to end this war successfully,” said Obama firmly.

Obama equivocated; the increase of American and international troops will increase the possibility of a speedier surrender by the Afghan rebels and will enable the acceleration of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by July 2011. “Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground,” he said.

Obama’s stubborn determination to send more troops despite the perpetually increasing number of American military victims in Afghanistan has reaped him various criticism. One of his critics is a liberal character from the Democratic Party, George McGovern. “I am astounded at the Obama administration’s decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan, the action is wrong,” said McGovern to the Washington Post.

The ex-Senator from South Dakota compared Obama to the late democratic President Lyndon Johnson, who decided to heighten the American war in Vietnam. According to McGovern, Johnson was brilliant with domestic issues, but Vietnam destroyed his dream. The war became unbearable for American citizens, which made it impossible for Johnson to obtain the necessary vote to maintain his position in office for the next 4 years.

As long as there is a good reason for the war in Afghanistan, said McGovern, America will be able to win it. “With a $12 trillion debt and a serious economic recession, this is not a time for unnecessary wars abroad. We should bring our soldiers home before any more of them are killed or wounded – and before our national debt explodes,” he said.

Allied Support

Obama’s plan has received the full support of NATO allies. In fact, NATO will soon send two critical groups of 3,000 soldiers to north of Afghanistan under a German commander. “From a military point of view, the allied headquarters in Europe thinks it necessary to send two tactical groups into this zone,” said head commander of the operation, General Karl-Hinz Lather, who was nominated by AFP.

But German Counselor Angela Merkel said the country would wait for the official London conference on Afghanistan this upcoming Jan 28 before announcing further action. German troops in Afghanistan totaled 4,300 soldiers, stationed mostly in northern Afghanistan. German troops represent the third largest international military presence in Afghanistan, currently totaling about 100,000 troops, after the U.S. and England, with 10,000 troops.

But the French are showing their support of America’s new military plan by sending 3,300 more troops to Afghanistan. This is despite the fact that last December French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would also wait until the London conference before announcing further renewal of military support.

England, America’s number one ally, will also support the plan by sending more troops to Afghanistan. English Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he is renewing his national commitment to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan by adding more troops. Brown has also sent more combat equipment, including a helicopter and bomb detection devices to fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Following the combat equipment will be 500 soldiers, who will join the 9,500 English troops in southern Afghanistan. “The combined effort of allied forces with the Afghan government is the way we will defeat the insurgency, the way we will stop Al Qaeda having any space to operate in Afghanistan,” said Brown, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

Brown said adding troops and weapons is part of the plan to weaken the Taliban and strengthen the Afghan government. But he fails to warn his citizens that the next few months will be critical.

Veterans Against War

Not all American citizens agree with Obama’s plan of increasing the number of military personnel in Afghanistan. March Forward, an American veteran organization who has often been the voice against war and racism, asks all soldiers to refuse the order. “All foreign forces should leave Afghanistan now!” said this organization.

March Forward also invites everyone to unite with them in the fight to assure that no more troops or innocent civilians will lose their lives because of the war. “On December 1, we got a clear order from President Obama. For many more years, we will be sent to kill, to die, to be maimed and wounded, in a war where “victory” is impossible, against a people who are not our enemies.”

For more than 8 years, American troops have been going home in coffins, in wheelchairs, with burnt skin, haunted by the traumas of war, March Forward asserted. “Active duty soldiers who succumb to suicide outnumber those killed in combat,” said the organization, led by Michael Prysner, a veteran from the war in Iraq in 2008.

Despite that, multiple opposition parties seem to have no influence on American troops. The ambition to win the war in Afghanistan despite the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers remains number one.

This situation invites the attention of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, especially since the soldiers now control about a third of the provinces in Afghanistan. “I remain deeply concerned by the growing level of collusion between the Afghan Taliban and Al Qaeda and other extremist groups taking refuge across the border in Pakistan,” he states. “The insurgency has grown more violent, more pervasive and more sophisticated,” he said.

In the beginning, as many as 1,500 more American marines have been directed to the south, near the province of Helmand, where rebellion is the strongest. This group will prepare the logistics for the 30,000 added troops who will follow them in the coming months.

Will the American and NATO allies be able to squelch the Taliban and Al Qaeda by winning the war with the number of soldiers they have? Only time will tell.