A simple question
Can anyone offer me a serious answer to the question: why are we still in Afghanistan?
I believe the concern is that as much as it sucks to be in Afghanistan the alternative is worse. When climbing over a mountain, you can’t just cut the ropes and bail half-way down the far face—no matter how bad an idea the entire expedition was. Even if that works okay for you, it doesn’t end well for the guys on your team who are counting on you.
The guys on our team are killing us. Karzai is utterly corrupt and barely controls Kabul. He has promised to support Pakistan should it go to war with the US. We have no team.
So whose team are the people who are on Taliban death lists for teaching girls to read? The people who risk their lives every day because they believe in basic human right? The people who might find themselves killed if we stay—but will definitely find themselves killed if we pull out immediately? Whose team are the people trying to build a country from the ground up on?
Maybe we don’t have a team. Maybe we’re just looking out for our own interests. Maybe its a messy, nasty, complicated world. Maybe Karzai is only in it for himself. Maybe we’re not any better. But maybe there are people we should try to protect if we can. If it’s hopeless, it’s hopeless. But if we have a chance to leave a legacy of something other than destruction, it’s worth trying.
