I guess the Illinois’ 10th district analysis will have to wait. There are more interesting things to talk about right now, and I’ve chosen one of them to be the War in Afghanistan.

Recently, there have been a lot of news reports and opinion article revolving around whether Afghanistan is another Vietnam. Is it(the war) just another failure that we are trying to salvage? Now granted there are numerous similarities between the two wars. There is the fact that we haven’t been able to actually WIN there. There is the fact that in both wars, we really didn’t know WHO the enemy actually was. But there are reasons with more impact why we need to stay in Afghanistan and why it should NOT become and IS NOT another Vietnam.

The state of Afghanistan greatly affects America’s homeland security.

This is something that a lot of people fail to realize when not supporting the war in Afghanistan. The simple fact of the matter is that the majority of the terrorists that have actually done damage against the United States and that continue to be a threat to the United States reside in Afghanistan and the Khmer Rouge mountains on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. These are a number of terrorist groups, which include but are not limited to the al-quaeda, Taliban, and the LET. Afghanistan is at a major risk at becoming a country that is run by terrorist. Not a corrupt country, not a country like Iran that is ruled by a crazy man, but a country ACTUALLY ruled by terrorists. The most horrendous attacks on the world have been committed by these groups that reside in Afghanistan, or have camps in Afghanistan. Leaving 9/11 aside( which is a big atrocity in itself), the 1995 attack on an American trade center and the attacks in Mumbai a year and a half ago come to mind.

Recently, there has been another rise of the Taliban party. The people of Afghanistan are starting to listen to the Taliban again, and are leaning towards them. What we failed to realize under the Bush adminstration was that the people weren’t turning to the Taliban because of their fantastic and strict lifestyle, but because staying with the Taliban guaranteed a better economic future. That’s right, in Afghanistan, siding with terrorists will actually net you some money.

We need to bring justice to the American people and restore their confidence in the government.

Vietnam was not about bringing justice to the American people: The Vietnamese had never done anything to directly harm the American public. This is quite different as compared to Afghanistan. Although 9/11 was 9 years ago, it changed the face of the United States. Nobody thought that anybody would dare attack the United States on their homeland, and that vulnerability was exposed on that fateful day. To this day we are still reeling with the reality check that we cannot fully protect our own people. 9/11 caused a huge loss of faith in the government, and with every day that we do not catch Osama bin Laden, that loss in trust becomes more and more permanent. If we call off that search, then it is almost like we are admitting to the American people that we have failed to protect their rights and principles. Ideologically, we must restore people’s trust in the government and bring the justice that we have been lacking for many years.

It is for these reasons that I support President Obama in his call to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, and phase out the army in Iraq into Afghanistan. Iraq isn’t where terrorists reside, its where insurgents are, just wanting to protect the interests of their country. The true terrorists reside in Afghanistan. We already see signs of this surge working. Just last month, the Taliban’s number 2 man was caught on the outskirts of Pakistan. Although this wasn’t in Afghanistan, this capture is a testament to the new perspective and drive our commander in chief has brought to the war.  Barack Obama’s war is a calculated step in the right direction, and we can only hope that it works out in the end.

Signing Out,

Mihir Deo