A Nobel Critique of Afghanistan

You guys know how it works. This should be in the October 22 issue of The Circle. Enjoy:


On October 7, the War in Afghanistan entered its ninth year. Like the Vietnam War, there seems to be no clear mission other than the elimination of the, “bad guys,” that are ideologically opposed to the United States. Considering that Obama is to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and that there is a potential troop increase on the table in Washington, the political climate is ripe for true change.

But will there be any change in the strategy on Afghanistan. Just as General Westmoreland told President Johnson in 1968 that a troop surge in Vietnam would stabilize South Vietnam, General McCrystal is telling President Obama that a troop surge in Afghanistan in 2009 will stabilize the country. We all know what happened
in Vietnam, and I’m afraid of a repeat in Afghanistan.

There are some negative signs that only seem to dictate a negative outcome in Afghanistan. Like fighting the Viet Cong forty years ago, the Taliban are a decentralized military entity that is fighting on territory they are familiar with against troops on their lands. Trying to take out the Taliban hiding in the mountains is nothing short of a logistical nightmare.

Also, the fact remains that the Taliban is not Al Qaida. The US originally sought to take out Al Qaida and its networks but has been preoccupied with the Taliban in Afghanistan for years. Nearly everyone knows now that Al Qaida is predominantly in Pakistan, which is nearing anarchy itself. So, while Al Qaida is operating in Pakistan, the United States continues to keep its attention on nation building in Afghanistan.

The fact also remains that many Afghanis are still quite hostile towards westerners. In some incidents – such as an incident involving a Canadian Air Force Captain – Afghani civilians have attacked military personnel attempting friendly contact. Additionally, if 2009 could tell us anything about the situation in Afghanistan, it would say that violence is at higher levels now than it has been since the war began.

On top of all this, the Afghani government is a joke. The Afghani judiciary is so weak that it is laughable. The Afghani government as a whole is so corrupt that it holds nearly no legitimacy with the Afghani people. This is all very reminiscent of the incredibly fragile, puppet South Vietnamese government. This is not to mention that Afghani President Hamid Karzai has been accused of election fraud from the August presidential election.

With the situation the way it is, and the prospects of a positive change fading with every senselessly violent day in Afghanistan, I as a pacifist call upon President Obama to earn his Nobel Peace Prize. End combat operations in Afghanistan and put an end to the Bush Wars.

Regardless of Obama’s previous actions that caused him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he will not earn it until the conflict in Afghanistan is over. It is time to put an end to this war before it truly becomes the modern Vietnam.

-mike