The Case Against A Surge In Afghanistan

As a mother of a deployed soldier who admits they are creating more Taliban than they can kill, thank you for a great article. --Suzanne Brownlow, Communications Director of Oregon Constitution Party


“Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.” Thomas Jefferson
“Occupation will never bring liberation, and it is impossible to bring democracy by war.” -- Malalai Joya

Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States initiated Operation Enduring Freedom in October of 2001. The Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, and was overthrown. The United States and Coalition forces set out to transform a country where most citizens live on less than two dollars a day.

Eight years later, with a constitution, president, and legislature chosen, General Stanley McCrystal has asked President Obama to send the country another 40,000 troops.

Obama, who campaigned as the anti-war candidate in the 2008 election, has accepted the general’s request. So much for the two party system.

President Obama is sending more troops to a country to fight the resurgence of a group supposedly eliminated 8 years ago.

The Taliban controls 80% of Afghanistan, more of the country than when Coalition forces first invaded. The Afghan government controls only 20% of it’s country, mostly the major population centers. President Obama will send 40,000 troops to control over 40,000 villages in rural areas that most Afghan governments haven’t been able to control for 200 years.

With just a mere glance at these facts, the prospects are dim. But what has a troop presence in the country really helped in the last eight years?

We rightfully invaded Afghanistan to bring the ones behind 9/11 to justice. The country has a president, a constitution, and a government.

Despite all of this, the Taliban is being revived. More forces have been requested, and more will be sent.

And for what? Nearly 1,000 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan in the last eight years, and nearly 5,000 wounded. About 400 Coalition troops from other countries have been killed. Five thousand Afghan soldiers have been killed. By the end of the fiscal year, the war in Afghanistan will have cost more than the war in Iraq. Both conflicts will have cost over $1 trillion. Adjusted for inflation, the total cost of the wars will be more than any other war America has fought besides World War II. The two wars will have cost the typical American family of four over $13,000.

The Taliban has found funding in opium of $300 million a year. 93% of illicit global opiate production is Afghan. Before the invasion in 2001, production was 185 metric tons. This figure grew to 6,100 metric tons in 2006, and 8,200 metric tons in 2007. The UN Office of Drugs and Crime reported shortly after parliamentary elections in 2005 that opium production in the north had increased 30% in southern Afghanistan, 98% in the west, and 106% in the north. Kandahar alone saw a 162% increase. The Balkh and Farah regions both saw upsurges of over 300%. Executive Director of the UN Office said, “The strongest increases were in the north and west where NATO is operating. This needs to be brought to the attention of NATO.” This was at a time when NATO had been in the country for nearly four years.

Retired Army Colonel Hy Rothstein, commissioned by the Pentagon in 2004 to survey the war, concluded that the war has brought about conditions that give “warlordism, banditry, and opium production a new lease on life.” The conduct of U.S. forces was criticized the same year by Human Rights Watch. Afghanistan rated 10th on the failed states index in 2006.

Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the Soviet Union, urged the U.S. to leave Afghanistan in a November 2009 interview with CNN, saying, “I think our experience deserves attention.” Many historians concur that the Soviet invasion was a contributing factor to the USSR’s collapse.

Despite the all the facts, President Obama is planning to send 40,000 additional forces to Afghanistan, at an estimated cost of $1 million per person. Despite the fact 51% of Americans say the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting, the President is sending additional forces. This can only mean additional wasted resources, additional debt, and additional lives lost. In February 2005, Senator John McCain called for permanent American military bases in Afghanistan. Is this the future of the country?

Would there really be any consequences if America was to withdraw? Would the Taliban, Al Qaeda, or another group return to Afghanistan to use it as a base to launch more attacks on our country? It is very unlikely. According to Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, Al Qaeda and the Taliban are in Pakistan. If 80% of Afghanistan is already controlled by rebel fighters, why wouldn’t Osama bin Laden have already returned? CNN commentator Fareed Zakaria wrote in a recent Newsweek article, “It is unclear how many Taliban fighters believe in a global jihadist ideology, but most U.S. commanders with whom I’ve spoken feel that the number is less than 30%. The other 70% are driven by money, gangland peer pressure, or opposition to Karzai.”

Malalai Joya, author of “Raising My Voice” and a former Afghan parliament member recently said,

Eight years ago, the U.S. and NATO -- under the banner of women’s rights, human rights, and democracy -- occupied my country and pushed us from the frying pan into the fire. Eight years is enough to know better about the corrupt, mafia system of President Hamid Karzai. My people are crushed between two powerful enemies. From the sky, occupation forces bomb and kill civilians… and on the ground, the Taliban and warlords continue their crimes. It is better that they leave my country; my people are fed up. Occupation will never bring liberation, and it is impossible to bring democracy by war.

It’s time for America to come to our senses. The two major parties have no fundamental difference when it comes to foreign policy (or really any policy). America needs to return to the foreign policy of our Founding Fathers: a traditional conservative, noninterventionist foreign policy. Please sign this petition to bring American forces home from this destructive, costly, wasteful war.



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