Look. The debate isn't about which of these wars is "the good war" or "the right war." Those are misleading terms, anyway. The debate should be about how we change what we're doing in both countries to better fit our needs and the needs of these occupied countries. Inevitably, this leads us to the biggest problem we face: the goals we have are still too ambiguous to be helpful. Whether or not we have a moral responsibility to help build these countries up to a point that they remain stable and protect their people should not even be up for discussion. We do bear that burden, and I fear we are on the verge of leaving without fulfilling our obligations.
Before I go any further, let me point out that I am in no way condoning "endless war." That buzz term annoys me, but it's something I'll take flak for if I don't address it. I don't believe that our missions in Afghanistan or Iraq will take decades. Those who tout this argument seem to forget that America waged an almost 50-year long Cold War against another superpower and fought dozens of proxy wars and skirmishes while maintaining overall support from the American public. So let's be clear: the lack of objectives in Afghanistan and the lack of political stability in Iraq are the dominant obstacles to the success of both missions, but they are not the determining factor in whether or not we should stay.
I am in no way trying to trivialize the fact that American blood and treasure will be spent reaching these goals. I have friends in all branches of the military, and many of them are deployed overseas. I would love for the wars to be over tomorrow. However, we're engaged in a war against an enemy that feeds on poverty and misinformation (read: a lack of education), both of which exist on incredible scales in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's simply a fact of life that to help fix these issues, troops need to be there providing security.
Not surprisingly, a recent poll from NBC and the Wall Street Journal proves my point about American opinion on the wars we're mired in. Here's the good stuff:
(Click image for larger version)Americans want to see a clear victory built on increasing reliance on the governments and armed forces of the countries we invaded. They don't know much else about what they want, but a victory is a must.
It's now up to the Obama administration to take in all the advice it can and make a decision. Time is of the essence, but I think the folks in charge understand that it's more important to make the right choices than to hurry up about making a decision at all. On the other hand, it would seem that we've already got our wires crossed. Fantastic.
