Enough in Afghanistan

      In December of 2009, President Obama announced that the last American troops would leave Afghanistan in 2014. On June 22 of last year, Obama declared that 10,000 troops would be withdrawn by the end of 2011 and an additional 23,000 would be leaving Afghanistan by this summer. Currently about 80,000 troops remain in Afghanistan.

 

U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan after 9/11 with three objectives: find Osama bin Laden, destroy his al-qaeda terrorist organization and unseat the Taliban government that was shielding them. A decade later, bin Laden is dead and al-qaeda is in disarray, its remaining elements scattered across Africa and the Middle East. Those are major accomplishments, a tribute to the American military. But it's increasingly unclear how a continuing occupation in Afghanistan advances U.S. goals.

Now, it's time to bring them home.

The Gallup poll provides a good summary on the US's citizens opinion. Also, a new New York Times/CBS News poll shows that more Americans than ever want the U.S. to end its involvement in Afghanistan, with 69 percent now saying the U.S. shouldn't be fighting there. That's a huge jump from just four months ago, when 53 percent said it was time to go.

President Barack Obama needs to expedite the withdrawal of U.S. troops. It's costing us a fortune to stay there and, increasingly, appears to be doing more harm than good.

The Afghan people's anger at the United States and distrust of U.S. troops have only deepened in the past few months with a series of blunders, from soldiers' burning of Qurans to a rogue sergeant's one-man killing spree. The deaths and cultural insults are inspiring calls for vengeance that further erode Americans' ability to bring about positive change in Afghanistan.

Some members of Congress, including the Bay Area delegation, are calling on the president to hasten the timetable. Even before Sunday's killing of Afghan villagers, polls showed more than half of the U.S. public believed the U.S. should withdraw even if the Afghan army isn't adequately trained.

During Tuesday's hearing, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., quoted a wounded Marine he met during a hospital visit. He asked, “Why are we still there?”

Canada, which has been Washington's key ally in Kandahar, will be out by 2011. Britain will likely withdraw soon after, along with most of NATO's European contingent. If Obama does not synch his withdrawal with his allies', it won't be long before America finds itself alone in Afghanistan.

This is why President Obama should stick to his plan to start withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan in 2011, and finish withdrawing soon after.